Ok, @Undisciplined, this guy stays on staff. Excellent fucking column -- my god!
Is it possible to feel the burden of sin in a continent that is all but godless, as Europe is these days? Prostitution barely generates a frisson in Belgium, a land of unionised hookers. Puffing cannabis is legal in Germany, of all places. Gambling via lotteries or mobile apps is uncontentious just about everywhere.
...but it's the account for the Swedish Systembolaget that gets me <3. Quoting at length, bc my god it's fun (and accurate):
to feel the weight of social disapproval, try buying a bottle of wine in Sweden. Since 1955 a state-run monopoly has begrudgingly dispensed alcohol to those who insist on drinking it. The Systembolaget, as it is known, oozes disapproval. Stores are sparse and closed on Sundays. If you find one, forget posters of appealing vineyards as you browse the shelves: the decor is part Albanian government office, part pharmacy. There are no discounts to be had, nor a loyalty programme. Wine is left unchilled lest a customer be tempted to down it on a whim. As they queue to pay, shoppers are made to trudge past a “regret basket” that primly suggests they leave some of their hoard behind. The road to Swedish hell is, apparently, lined with lukewarm bottles of sauvignon blanc. And pricey ones, too. For it is not only Systembolaget’s profits that flow to the state, but the hefty excise duties imposed on what it sells. Whether in restaurants or in shops, booze is eye-wateringly expensive: in Sweden drinking serves both to numb the senses and lighten the wallet.
I made the case to @Shugard the other day that' I'm pretty OK with some sin taxes -- provided I get to choose what the sin is and how hefty the punishment is (negotiable...). Nuff said, meat and whisky won't get any such taxes, smoking taxes stay, obesity and unnecessary noise are in, and -- I dunno -- ugly people get shafted.
Such “sin taxes” allow European politicians to indulge in their two great passions: nannying the public and filling public coffers. Alas the two are in opposition, seeing that pricey sinning makes for fewer sinners.
Europe has a special (and arguably dubious) rationale for taxing the unholy trinity that are booze, cigs and petrol: its publicly funded health-care systems ultimately pick up the tab for citizens’ bad habits, and society at large will pay the cost of adapting to global warming. [...] The downside of sin taxes is that government finances suffer when bad habits get kicked. Smoking and drinking have both declined markedly in recent decades. Whether that is because of high taxes or other factors is up for debate.
...and Charlemagne got this one right; 100% income (and wealth!) taxes on people doing this. FUCKERS
Excellent The Economist read