Seriously? Now The Left Wants to Tax Smartphones? – RedState

“Sin taxes” are and always have been a bad idea. It’s not the government’s place to try to manipulate our behavior, unless that behavior causes harm to someone else. It is not the government’s place to criticize us for eating bacon, smoking a cigar from time to time, or enjoying a good whiskey from time to time. But there are always people inside and outside of government, most often (but not exclusively) on the left, who want to use the power of taxation to regulate our behavior.

Which brings us to excessive cell phone use. This can be confusing, of course; One day, my wife and I, while traveling in the lower 48, went for a bite to eat at a breakfast restaurant and were perplexed to observe what appeared to be a father of three teenage daughters; the four of them came in, sat down, took out their phones and went through the entire meal. They only spoke to place their orders. Not a word was exchanged before, during or after the meal, neither from father to daughters, nor vice versa.

It’s a bit strange. But should the government tax this kind of behavior? Bloomberg’s Matthew Yglesias thinks that should be the case. And that’s a stupid idea.

Americans read less, sleep less and party less. We have fewer marriages, fewer children and fewer friends than before. Our children are doing less well in school.

Yes, all of these things are correct. He writes about the overuse of the Internet and describes some “edge-nibbing” ideas. But it is the solution proposed by Mr. Yglesias that triggers the “stupid” button:

But it is necessary to go further, especially in a world where budget deficits are widening. Why not adopt a tax policy that discourages the all-you-can-eat broadcasting business model financed by advertising? How about a tax on digital advertising? Subscription-based models work for content that people are proud to consume, while ad-supported ones reward quantity over quality. I might also consider a progressive tax on broadband consumption, creating something of a throwback to the early days of cell phones, when people used them but had to be careful with their minutes. This would allow people to use the internet for useful activities while discouraging zombie-like scrolling.

In such a world, the tech industry would still be very powerful, tech companies would still be very big, and tech entrepreneurs would still be very rich. But the general direction of entrepreneurial activity would move away from low-value engagement and toward the many other things that can be accomplished through digital technology. And Americans could spend less time streaming video and more time doing something more productive, which is basically anything else.

No, just no.

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First, it is not the role of government to protect us from ourselves in this way. One could argue, I suppose, in favor of taxing tobacco, a substance with known health risks. We could also argue in favor of taxing alcohol in order to reduce the risks of excessive consumption and the health problems that can result from it. I am not in favor of such taxes, but at least there is an argument in favor of them. But why use the cell phone? Should we tax it because Matthew Yglesias finds it boring? I find it annoying too, but as Thomas Jefferson would have said: “If it doesn’t pick my pocket and break my arm, it’s none of my business.” »

Second, the goal of taxation should be to raise revenue for essential government needs, not to change behavior.

The left always favors more control, not less. Always. Yes, cell phone use can be a bad thing when taken to the extreme, as in the case described above. But we are still supposed to be a free people, which means we are free to decide whether to bury ourselves in the rabbit hole that is the online world. For younger generations in particular, their parents, not the authoritarian hand of government, should make this decision.

In the case I described above, when we talked about it later – my wife and I talk about everything, and after 34 years together we still talk – I felt, and she agreed, that the father here should have said, “It’s a family event. No phones. Put them away.” This is the solution, not a tax on sin.

Editor’s note: Schumer’s closure is here. Rather than putting the American people first, Chuck Schumer and radical Democrats forced a government shutdown on health care for illegal immigrants. They own that.

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