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let’s consider for a moment the stated reason for the police confronting Garner in the first place. Despite an assertion by journalist Matt Taibbi that the New York resident was approached by officers because they were under orders to “clean” up the corner, police maintain it was because Garner was selling “loosies.” Loosie is slang for a single smoke that can be purchased for a few cents – usually somewhere between 10 cents and a quarter. And why, pray tell, would people want to buy only one cigarette? Could it be because New York’s nanny legislators have driven the price of a pack of cigarettes into the stratosphere? Today the Big Apple is home to the most expensive smokes in the nation, at $13 a pack. Back when Garner was alive, it was probably around $10.50. Rest assured, all that money isn’t going into the pockets of Philip Morris. Ultimately, these astronomical prices aren’t going to affect the nicotine addiction of Buffy from the Upper East Side, but for those on a limited income, you can bet your derriere it does. Loosies are part of those innocuous, do-gooder sin taxes. As Liberty NationEconomic Correspondent Andrew Moran pointed out, “The sin tax eventually morphed into pecuniary penalties on a wide range of goods: tobacco, gambling, candies, drugs, gasoline, and so much more. We didn’t rebel, though. We just accepted it.”

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Sin taxes are designed to regulate behavior, and they are being enacted from one end of America to the other at warp speed by liberal legislators who feel the need to control the conduct of their constituency. Promote health, scarf up a bundle of money – what possibly could be the downside here? That’s the mentality of lefty legislators who can’t stop themselves from telling you what to do and taking your money in the process. It may have started with smokes and booze, but it has morphed into taxes on sugar, fat, and meat. This political crusade rakes in a lot of tax money – something the left likes more than almost anything else on the planet

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You don’t see a ton of poor people in the organic aisle at Whole Foods. And they are not the ones standing in line for a Maui Wowi with an energy boost at Jamba Juice. If you are making ends meet with a welfare check, chances are you do not want to pay $12 for a bunch of grapes. This is not a stereotype; it is reality. So, the political party that advertises itself as a champion of the underprivileged work overtime to tax its communities and then direct law enforcement to implement its Draconian laws.

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Perhaps this sounds old-fashioned or out of touch, but why do elected officials believe it’s their duty to force everyone to conform to what they think is best? Some folks want to drink a Super Big Gulp. Others want a Big Mac and supersize fries. People like Garner just should be left in peace. It seems the control freaks on the left would do a better job for the poor if they just stopped trying to legislate behavior and adopt a live-and-let-live attitude.

While I don't agree with all of the writers conclusions, he does make some good points about the left and how they want to control every aspect of our lives.
It's ironic that the left was once the side that uttered the mantra," you can't legislate morality!"

This post was edited on 8/22/19 at 6:02 am