| SamuelRSmith said: Smoking has led to a breakdown in society in the sense that losing family members/friends early can lead to things like depression, which can have huge negative effects on work, relations, etc, and lead to divorce, further depression. Also, you get a lot of cases of teens who start smoking and the parents find out, causing a greater strictness on parenting, resulting in greater rebellion, can lead to crime, etc. However, that wasn't my point, I was remarking on the attitude that "indirect" costs don't matter in general, in which the breakdown of society would be a much bigger point. As for your 8 points: 1 is the most valid, and I think that there should be legislation that all paper should be retrieved from sustainable sources, and the cost of the book would reflect this, thus turning the indirect cost into a direct cost. 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 only effect the person that is reading the book, people who don't read aren't effected by these, thus it's not an indirect cost (or, at least, not the kind of cost I was talking about). 2 is genuine, however, people work more effectively if they are rested. Reading is a great way to relax and rest. 6 is the only one I can't really respond to. So much for dozens. Yes, you can make these lists for everything, and we should be - it's the only way we're going to turn society into a sustainable one - for actually paying for ALL costs, external and internal. Your last statement is false. Tobacco duty is under the same band as Alcohol duty and Fuel duty - those two aren't in the minority, these are taxed to high heavens for two reasons: provides short term taxation revenues, and because they are three things which have extremely high external costs. |
Nor reuw.
3) Effects your work, possibly makes you worse at your job. Makes your company worse lowers GDP.
4) People who may have been huge drivers of the industry instead have failed. The more people in a population primed for success, the more talented the workforce is going to be.
5) Racism doesn't effect other people? What if this person becomes a manager somewhere? Talented jewish guy can't get a job utilizing his skills.
7) Not spending time with their parents, or for that matter kids. Distance with their children. Children resent their parents. Families are destroyed.
8) Possibly productive people die earlier.
Like I said. I could come up with more i'm sure. But I was talking about dozens for many harmless things.
Pretty much all personal choices negativly effect society in some way... and that's fine. Because people aren't meant to ONLY be a collective.
Taxing everyone for everything negative they do that indirectly effects society is well... i hate to keep using the word but... Facist.
