By Larry Durstin
My reasons for voting in favor of the Cuyahoga County “sin tax” renewal (Issue 7) are quite simple. I love sports and get a significant amount of joy/sorrow from following the Cavs, Browns and Indians. Further, I don’t drink or smoke and have little sympathy for those who do and the taxes they must pay because of their habits/addictions/preferences/choices/sins or whatever.
Now, truth be told, I’ve been known to throw down a sawbuck or two for a round at a local watering hole, and I’ve even gone through the life-altering experience of paying seven clams for a pack of cigs for a temporarily strapped friend. So, though I have experienced only a slight sting in my wallet via the sin tax, it has only made me more appreciative of my disdain for booze and butts and less compassionate for those who keep coughing up cash to poison their bodies with the twin toxics of tobacco and alcohol.
So in my case, as is with so many others, voting in favor of the sin tax is a matter of self-interest. Progressives are often mystified why so many middle-class folks vote Republicans when their economic self-interest might be better served by the Democrat’s agenda.
True enough, but – as Bill Clinton continually points out – it’s important to understand that self-interest is a complicated thing and not all voters are slaves to their pocketbooks when it come to supporting candidates or issues. The obvious example is the many religious middle and lower class voters who believe that abortion is wrong and thus are not going to support a candidate who is pro-choice, no matter what that person’s economic policy may be. A few extra bucks in their wallets isn’t going to make them vote against their real self-interest.
And self-interest is the issue with the sin tax. The fact of the matter is that 85% of the adults in Cuyahoga County don’t smoke – so they are unaffected financially by the tax on cigarettes. But not only are these folks tobacco free, they have a tendency to look upon those who do puff away as the biggest losers on the face of the earth and offer them no pity whatsoever for the financial bite brought about by the cigarette tax.
Similarly, the vast majority of adults in the county really don’t drink enough alcohol to feel any kind of serious financial hit. Put another way, if the old equation on addiction is true, 20% of the drinkers consume 80% of the alcohol, meaning that a small percentage are disproportionately filling the tax coffers and it’s safe to assume that even many of them will support the sin tax because they love sports and – rightly or wrongly – view the local teams as community assets not to be messed with.
Now it’s true that the Coalition Against the Sin Tax has many valid points in opposing Issue 7. It’s hard to argue that more time would be beneficial in order to study the nuances of the issue or that more transparency in government dealings is a good idea or that there might be away to lessen the inequity inherent in any regressive tax.
(I do take strong exception with the Coalition’s claim that the sin tax is a “social justice” issue. We’re not talking about the Dred Scott decision here. As glib as it may sound, the truth is that if people are financially suffering because of smoking or drinking, the option is always available to stop or cut back. Alcohol and tobacco are not necessities.)
While acknowledging the good will and civic consciousness of the Coalition Against, I’m afraid that their effort will fall on deaf ears come election day in May. Cuyahoga County voters have renewed the sin tax once and will do so again. They are used to it and, apparently, are in no hurry to jettison it.
Why? Well, to again state the obvious, the vast majority of voters don’t smoke at all or don’t drink enough to have felt a significant financial sting from the tax and are satisfied enough with the local sports facilities and, especially, the three major teams, which they love with the love of a child and fear – logically or not – may be taken away from them.
That’s why, like me, they will vote their self-interest on Issue 7.
Larry Durstin is an independent journalist who has covered politics and sports for a variety of publications and websites over the past 20 years. He was the founding editor of the Cleveland Tab and an associate editor at the Cleveland Free Times. Durstin has won 12 Ohio Excellence in Journalism awards, including six first places in six different writing categories. He is the author of the novel The Morning After John Lennon Was Shot. LarryDurstinATyahoo.com
2 Responses to “DURSTIN: Based on Self-Interest, I’m Voting for Sin Tax”
Alex Vandehoff
I understand the point of view, but you could have written the same exact article with the same conclusions without coming off so self-righteous and demeaning.
Mark
I think I just heard Roldo’s head explode…..