# 112 2018 Post-Election Tax Initiatives Rundown

Lots of good stuff across the board from election day. Maine, Colorado, Florida, Washington state even passed either good initiatives or defeated bad ones. The march towards more liberalization on weed moves ahead. I am very happy to see this too. Unfortunately, the good folks in North Dakota weren’t quite ready to go all in. But even their ballot, which would have legalized entirely didn’t go down in too big a way not to be revisited. My concern on legalization, of course, is the folks who say “legalize it and tax it.” Yeah, that has done wonders for the black market on cigarettes. If you’re going to legalize you don’t do it for tax revenue. You do it for the peace and safety it creates. Never mind the freedom for people to engage in their choice of behaviors, as long as it doesn’t impact another’s ability to engage in his/her own choices. Washington state defeated, once again, their silly carbon tax initiative. Again, the idea CO2 is EVIL boggles the mind. But the Washington state law was even more silly in that CONSUMERS of fossil fuels, not just producers, would pay taxes at a huge clip. Look, until you see major reductions in consumption you simply are not going to get around the fact that we need fossil fuels to live the lives we’re accustomed to. Rooftop PV panels with wind turbines are not going to do it. Of course, you could, and should if you’re worried about CO2, advocate for nuclear. But that will never happen by the “greens”. I don’t know why, actually. But until they advocate for common sense electricity, which wouldn’t send us back into the 1800s I am very pleased when I see a “green” initiative defeated. San Francisco and Mountain View, CA both passed tax increases on businesses. The economic illiteracy in both these places is incredible. Tax GROSS RECEIPTS??? Insane. Tax new employees??? Again, insane. Good luck with that folks. Lastly, I find it interesting that both CO and ME engaged in wonderful fiscal conservatism this election cycle, yet both elected liberal governors. The take away there, in my opinion, is that if the Democrats were smart they’d nominate more centrist candidates. Not holding my breath of course, as the leftwing of the Democratic party has taken over that party, a redux of the George McGovern days. But only time will tell.