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The Problem With A Pot Tax
Tom KeaneTwitter
In this Friday, April 22, 2016 a marijuana bud is seen at a medical marijuana facility in Unity, Maine. (Robert F. Bukaty/AP)
Pot is on the ballot this November and the question put to voters is a mash-up of two ideas. One would make legal the recreational use of weed. The second would tax it. The first idea makes sense. The second is pernicious.
If you walk the streets of Boston or — as I recently did — hang outside of Fenway Park while crowds are milling about waiting for the Grateful Dead revival concert, you could be forgiven for thinking that pot already is fully legal. That situation came about when voters in 2008 approved its decriminalization. Smoking now subjects one to the possibility of a $100 fine, the same as the penalty for parking by a fire hydrant. And since drivers still park illegally, it should come as no surprise that users of weed view the penalties as, at worst, a small annoyance.
Still, it is technically illegal, and of course growing of the stuff — except for medicinal purposes — is prohibited as well. Thus the upcoming ballot question, which marks the third stage of a process we've seen across the country. First, marijuana proponents argue for decriminalization, then they push for medical use (in Massachusetts, that happened in 2012) and finally (a la Alaska, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Oregon and Washington state) they go for the gold: full legalization.
...over time, instead of merely permitting gambling, the state has become its enabler.
The proposed legislation is called "The Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act," and the principal organization behind it is the "Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol." Both are clever names, appealing to fence-sitters by proffering a vague promise of tough regulation, the familiarity of alcohol and the lure of bigger treasury coffers.
The opposition is fierce, and includes the governor, the attorney general, Boston's mayor — indeed, almost the entire senior political establishment of the state. Legalization, they fear, might encourage some nonusers to light up. It would make it easier for kids to get access. They conflate pot with the opioid crisis. And, in general, they argue, folks shouldn't be ingesting mind-altering substances.
It's hard to argue with the last sentiment, of course, yet in fact vast numbers of us already do ingest mind-altering drugs, in the form of caffeine, tobacco and alcohol. In truth, the logic of pot's opponents is the same logic that drove Prohibition in 1920. The flaw with Prohibition — and the flaw with our current laws prohibiting recreational use of marijuana — is that in a free society, individuals should be able to make their own decisions. There are lots of dangerous activities out there: riding motorcycles, horseback riding, and hang gliding, to name but a few. Compared to them, in fact, the risks of getting high are relatively small (no one has ever died from a marijuana overdose, argues the pro-pot lobby, a claim I've never seen refuted). To be blunt, if people want to take risks, they should be allowed to do so — whether it's smoking weed, drinking sugary sodas, or indulging in extreme sports.
To encourage voters to legalize weed, however, the pro-pot advocates also claim it "will raise millions of dollars in new revenue each year." Legal pot would be subject to a 3.75 percent excise tax (with a potential kicker to 5.75 percent if individual cities and towns wish), on top of the state's normal sales tax. It's a powerful enticement. I mean, who doesn't want new revenues?
Such gifts come at a price, however, a price we've seen before. Take gambling, for instance, also once an activity government routinely banned. But when the idea of the state lottery popped up, with the prospect of vast amounts of funds supplementing city and town budgets, the bait was too good to resist. People are going to gamble anyway, ran the thinking. Why not let communities benefit?
A sin tax on top of the regular sales tax puts Massachusetts in the uncomfortable position of, well, hoping you'll sin.
But over time, instead of merely permitting gambling, the state has become its enabler. The Massachusetts Lottery aggressively advertises its games. It invents new ones to keep the jaded coming back. And most recently, the Lottery has been pushing legislators (so far without success) to permit online gambling. Why online? Because without it, officials say, lottery revenues will decrease. In other words, the state is now worried that people might actually gamble less.
There's an important distinction here. It's one thing for the state to allow individuals to engage in bad or potentially harmful behavior. It's another altogether to encourage them to do so.
But that's what's happened with the Lottery and one can easily imagine that is what would also happen with weed. Legalizing marijuana is the right thing to do. But it should be taxed like everything else. A sin tax on top of the regular sales tax puts Massachusetts in the uncomfortable position of, well, hoping you'll sin.
Wendy Kaminer: Mayor Walsh's 'Shaky Science' On Marijuana
Radio Boston: Should Massachusetts Legalize Recreational Marijuana?
Baker, Walsh Among Campaign To Block Recreational Pot Ballot Question
Opponents Of Legalized Recreational Marijuana Warn Of Dangers From Edibles
Tom Keane Twitter Cognoscenti contributor
Tom Keane is a Boston-based writer.


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Meek Mill to Sue Las Vegas Hotel for Discrimination: Report
News 8:23 AM PDT, May 29, 2019 - MAYA CHUNG
8:23 AM PDT, May 29, 2019 - MAYA CHUNG
Rapper Meek Mill has said he plans to sue the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas after hotel security asked him to leave during an encounter last week.
The rapper claims that the he was denied entrance because of his race. In videos posted on his Twitter and Instagram, he is visibly upset during an exchange with hotel security.
"I can confirm that Joe Tacopina [Meek's lawyer] plans to file a lawsuit this week on Meek's behalf," the rapper's rep, Didier Morais, said in a statement to USA Today. The lawsuit will cite racial discrimination and defamation, TMZ reported.
In the video shared by Meek Mill, a member of the hotel's staff tells the rapper and his friends, "We are private property, at this time, with the information we have, we're refusing to do business with you, we have the right to do that."
The company, however, denies the incident had to do with race and said it was a capacity issue inside the hotel's Marquee Dayclub. There was no mention of this in the video of the rapper's interaction with security, however.
"The recent situation regarding Meek Mill related to a matter of security, not race, and any reports citing otherwise are false," the statement read. "We pride ourselves on providing an inclusive environment, with zero tolerance for discrimination. Under different circumstances, Meek Mill would be welcomed to the resort, but not at the compromise of his personal safety and the safety of our guests."
Hotel staff noted that if the rapper stayed on the premises, he would be arrested for trespassing.
"Cosmopolitan hotel/casino going to extreme racist levels to keep too many black entertainers and black people .... they said they gone lock me up..," Meek wrote on Instagram of the incident. "I'm like for what I've been once to a party with jayz ..... Some of these casinos have a bunch of [tactics] to keep the level of blacks down .... but love to take our money!!!!"
Cosmopolitan hotel/casino going to extreme racist levels to keep too many black entertainers and black people .... they said they gone lock me up.. I'm like for what I've been once to a party with jayz ..... Some of these casinos have a bunch of Tatics to keep the level of blacks down .... but love to take our money!!!! This happens to a lot of black entertainers not just me either!! I felt crazy being put out by these white men for no reason!
A post shared by Meek Mill (@meekmill) on May 25, 2019 at 4:12pm PDT
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


How AAE is calculated for curve fitting and what does it's value indicate?
I have experimental results which are fitted to different equations, the fit is assessed by R^2 and AAE and I don't know how to interpret AAE values.
Browse other questions tagged mathematical-statistics curve-fitting or ask your own question.
Curve fitting multivariate data for maximal correlation with univariate data?


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Mayor urged to deliver on water pledge
STAFF WRITER • 21 April 2017 12:16PM • 0 comments
HARARE - A residents' group has demanded the implementation of a pledge by Harare Mayor Bernard Manyenyeni that the Harare City Council will immediately stop charging fixed water charges to ratepayers who have not received council water from the years preceding 2014.
Manyenyeni told the council meeting last week that the 2014 resolution will be implemented this month.
The Mayor's pledge followed an outcry from residents that despite the council resolution, they were being made to pay for fixed water charges, yet some of them last received supplies from as far back as 1994.
The Combined Harare Residents Association (Chra) said it was "deeply concerned by the lackadaisical approach by council in implementing its resolutions, especially those that seek to protect the interests of the residents of Harare."
"Charging residents for services not rendered is daylight robbery and an act of extortion, hence our call to ... Manyenyeni to ensure that council stops robbing residents of their hard earned cash," the lobby group said.
"What is more concerning is the fact that some of the residents who have not received water for years but are being charged fixed water charges have fallen victim to debt collectors who have been engaged by the Harare City Council."
The debt collectors are charging an extra 10 percent of what the residents are said to owe council.
The debt collectors are also issuing threats of imprisonment and attachment of property.
"Chra would like to unequivocally state that such acts of robbery and extortion by the Harare City Council would justify any form of action by disgruntled residents," Chra warned in a statement yesterday.
"We are concerned that previous calls for the Harare City Council to stop these acts of extortion have fallen on deaf ears and residents continue to be victimised.
"It is our firm hope that . . . Manyenyeni will honour his pledge and act to ensure fixed water charges are scrapped.
" . . . we will intensify our programmes to urge residents who are not receiving council water to resist payment of fixed water charges."
Harare-City-Council
Bernard-Manyenyeni
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Binga residents petition Zinwa HARARE - The Binga District Residents Association (Bidra) has petitioned the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) for its failure to provide constant adequate, safe and c...
Zinwa offers 50pc discount HARARE - The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) is offering discounts of up to 50 percent to ratepayers who settle their water bills before December 31. In a notice ...
Zim hosts Sadc water meeting HARARE - Southern African Development Community (Sadc) Water Proficiency Testing Scheme Evaluation Workshop, which is hosted annually over three days by selected member states...
Major hospitals in water crisis HARARE - Harare's major referral hospitals are facing serious water shortages amid a cholera outbreak which has killed more than 31 people in the capital. The Daily News ca...


During a segment on CNN's "The Lead With Jake Tapper" on Tuesday, Federalist senior writer Mary Katharine Ham called out former FBI director James Comey for lying.
"It is also incredibly problematic to have a narrative that does not allow the questioning, and the skepticism of someone like a Mueller — who I actually have confidence in — but then you get down to Comey," Ham said.
Comey has publicly stated that he did not know Hillary Clinton would not face any charges for criminal wrongdoing before the FBI interviewed her about her use of a private, unsecured, e-mail server during her tenure as secretary of State.


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