Monday, January 17, 2005

Another Good Reason Not To Live In NYC:

Draconian taxes and tax collection measures, and an hysterical attitude regarding tobacco use, as reported here in the LA Times. You have to read deep (in fact, all the way to the end) to get to the most sinister implications (outside of the violation of privacy agreements):

"I think New York is getting away with it because it's tobacco. If it were cellphones, it probably wouldn't work," said Harvey S. Jacobs, a Washington-based lawyer with Jacobs & Associates.

"It's a dangerous precedent. I don't see why other states couldn't retaliate to protect products they think are being hurt by online sales."

Now that the Tobacco Settlement has validated legislation through litigation as a means to circumvent the legislative process (and incidentally transferring billions of dollars from the pockets of the poor to those of lawyers), expect actions similar to the Tobacco Settlement to attack fast food, liquor, guns...