The Ideology of the Tanning Tax

As part of the recent health care law, Congress has imposed a ten percent tax on tanning salons. The tax will reportedly raise $2.7 billion dollars in the next decade.

But what is the point of the tax? This is much like a cigarette tax or a tax on alcohol. Are you imposing it to discourage people from buying those products, or are you imposing it because you know people will continue to buy those products and, therefore, it will generate a lot of revenue. History proves that the latter is the motive--the so-called "sin" tax. Very few people will stop smoking if they have to pay more for the cigarettes, and I'm assuming that people will continue radiate their body with UV rays in the hopes of having a golden (sometimes orange) glow, regardless of a ten percent tax.

So, the point of the tax is to raise revenue, but what, exactly, is the ideology behind the tax? Depending on your ideology, consider where you might fall on the merits of the tanning tax.

Conservatives say that the tanning tax is a good idea, just as they say a cigarette tax is good. Why? Because eventually society will have to pay for the tanner's bad choice or the smoker's bad choice. Neither behavior is good for the body,and chances are that the consumer's health will deteriorate. That means higher insurance premiums and possibly higher taxes, especially if you live in a county with a taxpayer-supported hospital.

Liberals also like the idea of a tanning tax and a cigarette tax. Why? Because liberalism says that government exists to enhance citizens' quality of life. So, a liberal would say that continuing to destroy your body with UV rays or cigarettes is not a good thing, and that we should implement policies that work as a disincentive to engage in that behavior.

Libertarians argue that a tanning tax or cigarette tax is an infringement on personal liberty. If I want to destroy my skin or smoke like a steam engine and send myself to early grave, it should be my choice.

It should be noted that nowhere have I heard a Republican say that the tanning tax is a good idea, which is more evidence that the current Republican Party is drifting further and further to the right and, consequently, away from the mainstream. No longer are they the voice of conservatism, but a party that is afraid to oppose the tea-party-driven libertarianism de jure, which, if you haven't figured out by now, is hell-bent on opposing anything that Obama appears to be in favor of--including a tanning tax.