Tax
Posted on 10/10/2012 9:31:25 AM PDT by marktwain
Someone standing at the intersection can see Stroger Hospital to the east, where many gunshot victims are treated; the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center to the south, where many shooters are incarcerated, and the Cook County medical examiner’s office to the west, where many shooting victims lie dead.
That intersection would be a good spot to reflect on the huge cost of Chicago’s gun violence and why Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s proposal for a tax on guns and ammunition is more than reasonable.
Trying to close a $115 million gap in the 2013 budget she will present next week, Preckwinkle has said she favors a tax on guns and ammunition that would help offset the huge cost to the county of gun violence.
“Cook County suffers from systemic gun violence,” Preckwinkle said at a press briefing Tuesday. “The wide availability of ammunition exacerbates the problem.”
The county estimates the cost to treat an uninsured gunshot victim at Stroger Hospital at $52,000. The total cost of each gun homicide nationwide is $400,000, when you add in police work, court proceedings and other costs, according to Elliot N. Fineman of the National Gun Victims Action Council. Chicago’s homicide rate is up 25 percent this year over last. So it doesn’t seem at all unreasonable to us to ask purchasers of guns and ammunition to help defray the cost.
There are no gun shops in Chicago, but Preckwinkle said there are about 40 in the suburbs and several other stores that sell ammunition. A report by Chicago Police and the University of Chicago found nearly a third of guns found on Chicago streets, including at crime scenes, were sold at suburban gun shops.
(Excerpt) Read more at suntimes.com ...
I’ll leave it to my learned co-conservatives to knock this idiotic suggestion out of the park.
I’m waiting for this cretiness to start stage one: getting all those felons out there to register their guns so that they can be taxed.
The stupidity of a liberal knows no bounds.
It is not surprising that they fail to mention that increasing numbers of guns has coincided with decreasing crimes with guns.
Example of the communists attempt to control and the take over of America.
Let’s see, the people doing all the shooting already have to go outside the county to buy their handguns, do these idiots really think they won’t do the same for ammo?
“Chicago’s homicide rate is up 25 percent this year over last. So it doesn’t seem at all unreasonable to us to ask purchasers of guns and ammunition to help defray the cost.”
Typical, hugely-flawed, lib-dem-gun grabber “logic”.
Idiots!
Cause or effect?
Why not add a violence tax to car sales? After all, cars are used in drive by shootings. Or a violence tax to alcohol? Or the sale of rap music? Or half a dozen other ancillary objects?
Instead, they should tax cocaine, heroin, crack, spinners, hip hop and rap.
I don't think Cook County even recognizes the Constitution anymore.
I can just see the unintended consequences of this one.
Huge tax on ammunition. Black-market ammunition reloaders move into Chicago. Supplying ammo becomes the new rum-running of petty criminals. Soon, people start getting killed by firearms blowing up in their hands. Then there is a cry for government regulation and standards on ammo so that “innocent” “youths” are not hurt by this evil “drug.” Oh, yes, we will soon need a full blown “war on ammo!”
This is not about the budget, it is about the illusion of gun control and more specifically about politicians fear of an armed and angry electorate.
It makes perfect sense if you are a gun hating liberal.
Tax someone else - great idea from a liberal viewpoint!
Tax someone you dispise, to pay for your largesse, a perfect liberal idea.
I have an idea that is (equally flawed but) just as logical. Since the homicide rate is up so much, they should reduce the salary and benefits of the police force by 25% to help defray the costs.
Maybe we should be taxing the gang member “yoots”?
“Editorial: County tax on guns, ammo a reasonable idea (IL)”
Since the apparent goal is to raise revenue, improve the quality of life, and deter bad behavior, here’s an even MORE reasonable idea; involuntary organ donation for criminals involved in a shooting. Someone’s got to pay for those emergency room “visits”, and I don’t think Mom and Dad’s insurance covers this.
Tax
That’d sure help, bigtime.
But if they’d just catch and ***KILL*** all the criminals, homicides would drop by 96%+. Zero recidivism.
Here in Texas we call it “permanent rehabilitation”.
this is like taxing rape victims for hospital treatment from rape violence.
seriously. law abiding folks who have guns are the victims, tax the people responsible for the violence. we know who they are, they are the criminals doing the crimes. they don’t get their guns and ammo from legit places. and if you’re mexican drug guy, Holder’s giving you guns on purpose.
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