A couple of friends of mine have posted about the situation in NYC, where another grand jury failed to indict an officer over the death of a citizen. There is actually more validity in protesting regarding this mans death than there was over Browns. But not really because of the arrest and death itself. The worst part about this mans death was why the situation came about in the first place. It would not be inaccurate to say taxes killed Eric Garner. The city and state of NY are solely responsible for the economic conditions that led to Eric Garner selling black market cigarettes. The taxes on cigarettes there are so ridiculously high that selling black market cigarettes is unbelievably profitable. A pack of cigarettes in NYC is over $13. In Virginia, only a couple hours away, a pack of cigarettes is only $6. A carton of cigarettes can be purchased in VA and sold for double in NYC, netting you a $60 profit, while still undercutting the price of legally taxed cigarettes. Fill the backseat of a car with cigarettes from VA, and its more that worth it to drive to VA a couple times a month. Fill a truck with cigarettes from someplace like Kentucky, and its worth millions - enough for gangs and organized crime to be involved in trafficking cigarettes to NYC. The city and state of NY have chosen to respond to the black market situation by using armed law enforcement ready and willing to use violence to enforce the will of the state. But they could practically destroy the black market with the stroke of a pen - by lowering their cigarette taxes to be more in line with surrounding states. States like CO do not have major problems with black market cigarettes because the taxes on them are close enough to the taxes in the surrounding states that there is little to no profit potential for a black market to operate on - which means that the state of CO doesnt have to use force and violence to enforce its cigarette taxes. So, in a nutshell, NYC is willfully choosing to use force and violence against their own citizens when they could simply use logic and reason. And that is why we should be appalled at Eric Garners death.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 16:35:00 +0000