Taxation As Behavior Modification

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that most of what Congress seems to be doing lately seems to have some rather shady undertones to it? Maybe I am completely wrong here (something that I have grown used to with shocking regularity), but most of the recently instituted or recently changed regulation and taxation seems little more than a thinly disguised effort at government behavior modification?

• Gasoline taxes go up and we drive a bit less.
• Property taxes go up and we move into a smaller house or to a place where the taxes are less (or of course we get foreclosed on, and lose the house) .
• Business taxes go up and we lay off people or move the business to a more business-friendly environment.
• Tobacco taxes go up and we either quit or cut down on smoking (except for me of course).
• City and state income taxes go up and we reduce our lifestyles or move to a place where taxes are less.
• Federal taxes go up and we reduce ... well, pretty much everything that we do.

And if you think that the government hasn't noticed how effective that this modus operandi is, you're kidding yourself. Members of Congress may not be the brightest bulbs on the tree, but they are master manipulators. (This may in fact, be the greatest understatement ever made in the history of Just Blowing Smoke.)  

Consider the taxes our various levels of government are considering, or have already passed in some areas around the country to perform such modification:

• Banning or taxation on the use of trans fats in the cooking process of foods
• Taxing carbonated drinks with sugar in them (and for those that think that this will mean only soda pop and therefore pass them by, consider that most energy drinks contain sugar).
• Taxes on purchase of goods and services on the Internet.
• The massive taxes on energy that will come if the Cap & Trade legislation manages to get through the Senate, something which affect every aspect of our lives and every action that we take.
• And last but not least, the taxes on that are being considered on employer supplied health benefits as the first step down a path to socialized medicine. Medicine that will in turn be rationed by government bureaucrats who will judge our need on how well we follow all of these new government guidelines

I find it funny that as we continue to congratulate ourselves as the "Land of the Free", we allow such restrictions on our freedom from our elected leaders. Oh sure, we tell ourselves that this is not what's actually going on, that we in fact change our behavior on our own and not at the impetus of government, or that such behavior modification is not the intended goal of such legislation; and yet it continues. 

Even when we recognize that we have been hoodwinked we allow it to continue without real complaint. Even when the government recognizes that they have in fact taxed a behavior all but out of existence, the process continues and sometimes even accelerates. Even when we do raise our voices in complaint, we fail to sustain such dissension, choosing rather to become a more complacent, more compliant, and a more manipulated population. 

When Is it Cute?

Have you ever noticed the reaction of women to the arrival of an infant or young child? All activity stops, all female heads are turned, and inevitably the voices produce the sound of “oohs and ahhs”. That child then becomes the center of attention, with compliments flowing over the appearance and behavior of the youngster, and smiles become the only response to any facial expressions that are made by this "cute" child.

The amazing thing to me here is the positive reaction that occurs regardless of the behavior exhibited. A burp is cause for amusement, drool rolling down the chin a cause for sympathy, and the smell of baby excrement is dealt with simply as a cry for assistance. Even when such behavior involves crying, screaming, or tantrums; it is met with kindness, understanding, and an undeniable urge to find a remedy for whatever is the cause of the child’s dismay.

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that well of sympathy and understanding tend to disappear as the child becomes a man? Imagine if you will, the reaction in a public place (any bar, restaurant, or airport for example) to an adult male as he sits amidst a group of women; smelling like an outhouse, drool rolling down his chin, belching to beat the band.

Without claiming to be an expert in the behavior of the female of the species (anyone who makes such a claim of expertise is probably trying to sell a book), I feel fairly safe in saying that they would not be smiling and racing to his assistance. I likewise suspect that the comments made by the fairer gender would not involve cooing, but would instead be sounds of dismay and disgust. Rather than halting their current activities to get a closer look and attempt to be of some assistance, I venture to say that all would be trying to get as far as possible from this miscreant as quickly as they could.

Don’t get me wrong here. I neither find fault in such a reaction, nor am I planning to exhibit such behavior now or in the future. My parents performed all of the tutoring required to guide me through the maturation process successfully (at least they thought so). I consider myself mostly self-sufficient, and am normally capable to behaving properly. (Well, most of the time anyway, and I deny any stories to the contrary that do not have documentary proof attached). On occasion, I have even been found to have enough of the social graces to be able to function in public situations.

I like many men however, would like to understand the rules of this game. I would like to know how such a prejudice on behavior, based simply on age, is acceptable to women. I would like to understand, if someone can explain it to me, when this child-like behavior becomes childish. I would like to know when the continuation of youthful exuberance becomes simply a failure to grow up. I would like to understand if at all possible, when such behavior becomes no longer cute and becomes instead a Scarlet Letter of immaturity.

Perhaps one of my female readers (I know that there are a couple of you out there) would care to explain this. Perhaps using small words and simple definitions, you can convey some level of understanding to us, the unwashed male gender. Perhaps you will share some your boundless understanding in the hopes that more of us might find a way to return to a point when all of our now unacceptable behavior should once again become cute.  

(By the way, for those of you out there wondering, the picture above is of me with my little ooh and ahh attractor, my youngest granddaughter Maggie.)