Tax My Meat: PETA’s Hot on the Campaign Trail
With an election year underfoot, it’s time for people to begin selling their platform. Some follow standard (read: boring) methods of entering your mind - newspaper articles, interviews, TV news shows, Internet sites. While others are finding more creative ways to not only get their message across, but often enter into your subconscious and remain there against your will.
Fortunately for me, the only platform pushers that have as of yet drilled into my information highway are ones that I agree with - PETA.
My friend Kelly who is a tax attorney and tax blogger … stop it, be nice … was actually the first to flag my attention in regards to the possibility of a vegetarian-related tax break.
But PETA’s pull is slightly different. They are calling for there to be an extra tax on meat, a “sin” tax similar to those on alcohol, tobacco, gasoline, etc.
Their basis for this call to action is that - through its production - meat negatively effects the environment, and - in its consumption - meat negatively effects our health. Both of these increase costs for the government. Money is spent on health care (heart disease, obesity) and counter-acting global warming.
Their ploy is different, too. They have been following the campaign trail, with the pig and cow seen here (don’t worry, it’s really humans in there. No animals were harmed), riding in a Mustang convertible.
Hey Kelly, I bet you wouldn’t get teased as much for being a tax lawyer if you dressed up as a giant stuffed animal and drove around in a cool car.
Go to PETA’s Action Center to read more about this urgent campaign, see that facts and stats about the meat industry’s impact, and send off a letter to congress urging them to support the meat tax.
May 15th, 2008 at 8:10 am
those pigs are so cute!If you can keep your head when all about you