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If it is my goal to get as much money as I can, I’m taxing what I can. Alcohol will definitely have a higher tax price. College kids and alcoholics will most likely continue to pay in hopes of a good time and addiction. Bars are not going to stop buying their main source of income so the demand for alcohol is inelastic. Raising the tax on alcohol makes the most sense to me, tobacco is something that I would consider raising taxes on to try and deter people from purchasing, but in the long run that would not make sense economically. 

As for whether or not human necessities should be taxed, I would tax medical services. Getting hurt or needing emergency services is not something one can control. It is a little messed up for those that cannot afford medical services to begin with but government  assistance it may be more manageable. Not many people are going to start fixing themselves so I do not believe demand will decrease.              

#2

If I had to choose which goods to tax, raise taxes, and lower taxes, I would choose the following for tobacco, alcohol, and gasoline. I would raise taxes on tobacco because tobacco is much worse than alcohol. Tobacco is responsible for 40% of cancers diagnosed in the United States. This percentage would of course be much higher if it were calculated globally. Raising taxes on tobacco goods would make tobacco less affordable, therefore, decrease its usage and prevent cancer cases and cancer death from continuing to increase. The goods that I would tax would have to be alcohol because when alcohol is consumed excessively and irresponsibly many lives are put at risk. For instance, alcohol can cause long-term health risks such as high blood pressure, stroke, liver disease, heart disease, digestive problems, and cancer. In addition, drunk driving causes the death of 28 people per day in the United States. Therefore, taxing alcohol would be helpful in reducing the cases and that from occurring. The goods that I would lower taxes on would have to be gasoline because gasoline has increased over time. In many states the gallon of gasoline has drastically increased over time. The drastic increase in gasoline has affected many people who are already struggling to pay their bills. Lowering taxes on gasoline would help many people in the lower class be able to afford gasoline and pay their bills.