Property Rights Newsletta

The Property Rights Newsletter April 8, 2011 - Issue #608 "No matter where you go, there you are." - B. Banzai

Nudgers vs. Nannies. The new split divides those who believe the fat, feckless masses should be nudged toward better behavior and those who believe the fat, feckless masses should be nannied toward better behavior. Prime Minister David Cameron leads the nudgers. He has established a Behavioural Insight Team (BIT) to furnish him with ideas for how to nudge the “illogical” masses (its word) toward the lifestyle approved by Cameron’s government: nonsmoking, alcohol-free, slim, no fun. Public health officials and their cheerleaders in the media lead the nannies. They believe nudging isn’t enough and that, in the words of Catherine Bennett of The Observer, there will be “a surge in obesity and mass poisoning” by booze and junk food unless the government adopts rules forcing people to become more health-conscious. Why is smoking back in fashion? Love is an impossibly stylish biannual fashion magazine, edited and styled by the rather fabulous Katie Grand, who also styled/ran the Louis Vuitton catwalk Kate-smoke show. Her mag is shudderingly chic. Weighty. Every model, every advert featuring a model, has a face that could launch a thousand ships; but a well-flung copy of Love could sink half the same fleet. Honestly, it's heavy. And, in this unusual issue of Love, there are more than a dozen shots of models smoking. Mostly smoking rather well. Old-style. Sexy. (Wisps of blue-blue smoke escape, like half-remembered perfume-ghosts. The thin white dukes of paper jut from lips, from long fingers, promising intention. Much is intensely sexy. Air travel was safer with smokers. It's interesting, back in the '80s, THE MECHANICS HAD AN EASY Way to check for cracks. They would go over the plane and look for the nicotine stain. The nicotine would be drawn up. Where theres a nicotine stain there was a crack. Now, no smoking on planes, so it's difficult to see the hairline cracks in the fuselage. The Smog of Reprisal. James Enstrom, a UCLA epidemiologist, was denied reappointment last year to his position as a research professor in the School of Public Health. Dr. Enstrom, who had worked at the university for 34 years, got into trouble, according to the campus newspaper’s report in August, because his research findings on ”fine particulate pollution” ran against conventional wisdom and “stirred up far more attention than scientific research usually receives.” Property Rights: SC lawmakers stop bill barring smoking around kids in cars. panel members said the proposal reached too far into people's private lives and is difficult to enforce. Republican Rep. Anne Thayer said parents who smoke in their cars also smoke at home, and the bill won't help children there. Money, money, money... HI: Hawaii Faces Fight Over Tobacco Tax Increase Proposal. "When sales plummet, salespeople are let go and, eventually, businesses fail," McCalla said. "These are not times when we can sacrifice jobs, income and taxes instead of doing whatever we can to create new jobs, stimulate revenues and support small businesses." ID: Cigarette tax hearing refused. Several minority party members in the Statehouse want to increase the cigarette tax by $1.25 to provide more funding for Medicaid and public schools. IL: House OKs bill to allow smoking in casinos. The proposal passed 62-52 and now goes to the Senate. "Since the imposition of our statewide smoking ban, to date our state has lost revenues in excess of $800 million," said bill sponsor Daniel Burke, D-Chicago. "We’re telling people ... go ahead, earn the money in Illinois, then get in your car and go to Wisconsin to gamble." IN: Smoking Ban Will Only Hurt Lagging State Economy. A statewide smoking ban with key exemptions has passed the Indiana House and now awaits action in the Senate. LA: Tobacco Tax Increase Proposal, HB63. It adds 70 cents to a pack of cigarettes. But more importantly, it raises cigars from 8% to 12% and 20% to 30% respectively, smoking tobacco from 33% to 49.5%, and smokeless from 20% to 30%. We must all be active, if we are going to defeat this. NE: Nebraska Tobacco Tax Increase Proposal Harmful. A 225 percent increase in Nebraska excise taxes on certain tobacco products would be harmful to businesses throughout the state, according to the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association. OR: Oregon Considers Controversial Tobacco Tax Increases. A flurry of tobacco tax bills with conflicting objectives is under consideration by Oregon state legislators who should say no to any new taxes. McCalla urged Oregon voters to contact their state legislators asking them to vote against any tobacco tax increases or any legislation that would extend taxability of tobacco products beyond the state level. Australia: Philip Morris to urge smokers urged to fight bans, taxes. "Bans on outdoor smoking, increased taxes, cigarettes not on display and now plain packaging for cigarettes what's next? It's time to tell the Government that you have had enough," the card says. It also directs aggrieved smokers to the campaign website where it claims: "Australia is already one of the most over-governed 'nanny state' countries in the Western world.

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