Sometimes governments create their own crime.

Since George Washington first taxed whisky Americans have been making their own. Moonshining actually goes that far back. Moonshine in reality is nothing more or less than untaxed liquor. It actually comes in many grades ranging from total rotgut to poison to some really first class hootch that can easily compete with the best that legal distilleries can produce.Right now Pennsylvania created its own new and upcoming crime wave and they did it to themselves by taxing smokes another buck a pack.The tax started today and already I have heard an interesting comment in the local convenience store.Someone said, "I live 2 miles from the Ohio border. You KNOW what I'm going to do."

His coworker replied, "I guess I know who is buying my smokes for me."So on the first day the smuggling starts. 

I suppose the crackdown on smugglers starts tomorrow morning when the people in Harrisburg figure things out.They will likely have to set up a whole new group to enforce the smuggling because it isn't too likely that the local and state police are going to be interested in enforcing this. 

The police are not going to go through people's pockets to check for a tax stamp on the bottom of a pack of cigarettes.They have better things to do. If they smoke they likely are to be doing the same thing.The cost of enforcement will likely match or best the amount of revenue taken in by the new tax.

I live about an hour north of Morgantown, WV and I would be surprised to find out that there isn't already a pipeline of illegal smokes running up US 19 and I-79. The market is there and there is money to be made.Of course the games will be played like they were in Massachusetts over beer on Sunday. For decades the residents of Massachusetts used to drive to New Hampshire to buy beer on Sunday. 

They also bought a lot of liquor there and also fireworks.The Massachusetts State Police would post unmarked cars in liquor store parking lots from time to time and radio units on the Massachusetts side of the state line.

Incidentally smuggling fireworks into MA is a felony. Go figure.

Of course when I bought beer in Sunday, two of us would make the run. I'd go in and load up the beer. I'd drive down the street and put the beer into my friends car and drive back into MA empty. I did get stopped a once.

As I was on the side of the road I saw my buddy go whistling past me with the goods and I snickered.

It's alway the same. Massachusetts finally figured it out and solved their problem by allowing beer to be sold on Sunday.

However when it comes to taxes the government never seems to figure it out.

They would likely be better off by lowering the tax to the level of, say, Delaware. It would stop smuggling. It would also create a large increase in income for the smoke shops who would pay more in income tax.

Lowering the expenses of policework etc and increasing the state's income would make more sense to me.

Then again, the whole thing really comes down to this. If they were more careful about how they spent our money the state would not need more money.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY