How Much Out the Door?

The money pool is looking a bit turbid; but we all want to go swimming , right? I was reading a quick synopsis on AOL (I stole this picture from them too) about potential taxes that could be instituted to generate revenue for government bodies. The list was relatively peculiar and certainly questionable. Before we reach full disclosure here, I'll mention the considerations vary by state and generally only apply to a specific location.

One category was dubbed the "sin" taxes, which apply to items such as cigarettes and alcohol, raising the price of America's favorite past times--smoke breaks and happy hour. New York (who else) is looking at an 18% tax on non-diet soda. The governor of WI. is talking an additional 75 cent on each pack of cigarettes, luckily smoking isn't my vice. In the "non-sin" taxes category we have MA. saddling the folks with a 19 cent gas tax just to make it feel like old times again. Additionally those who like to panic at the disco, keep their love locked down, or die hard are looking at a tax for all entertainment downloaded (movies, music, games). More than a dozen states have already embraced this tax and they speculate that more are on the way. There are many more but i will spare you the trepidation until they become a reality.

Are the citizens not buying enough of the taxed items that have always been sufficient? There is an outside chance that i may need to reform my logic, so banish me back to my place if so, however as I understand it most states were previously operating at a deficit with no chance of reaching a surplus anyhow therefore i do not understand what is so different now. Is it because all of the money that was used to run cities and states was borrowed and now the borrowing tree has withered away? The taxes that i mentioned are not necessity items and i thank them for logic on that, but the concept of one more economic punch to the gut for man-kind just rubs me tummy the wrong way. So don't panic quite yet, I just wanted you to know, and "knowing is half the battle"-GI JOE.