Tanning Salon Tax

There's a new Federal tax on tanning salons. It was included in the healthcare reform "law".

Before the "Tanning Salon Tax" was passed, there were a lot of mainstream media stories hyping "Tanning salons are bad for you!"

That's an interesting insight into the "manufacturing consent" process. The mainstream media hypes "X is harmful!" Then, a law is passed banning or taxing X.

Lately, there have been a lot of stories on "soda is bad for you" and "salty food is bad for you". This may lead to a tax on soda or salty food. There was such a proposal recently in NY, but it was shot down. Even if an attempt to raise taxes is defeated, State parasites will merely try again later. Once a tax is in place, it usually isn't repealed.

As long as fewer than 50% of the people use tanning salons, a majority might reasonably vote for the law. A bad law has inertia. The people who benefit from the law will block repeal.

The tanning salon tax benefits State parasites, because they get more resources. The tanning salon tax hurts small businesses more than large businesses. The small business much spend a greater % of income making sure they're in compliance with the tax bureaucracy.

It was interesting to notice the hype surrounding the tanning salon tax. It's an example of the State "manufacturing consent" process.