If there was a way that the government could:
- Reduce government debt levels,
- Cut income taxes,
- Destroy the Green party and eat up sections of Labour support.
Would it want to do it? I suspect so.
As a result, why aren’t they legalising and taxing drugs?
Note: None of these provide particularly good reasons for legalisation in my book – I am more pro-legalisation on choice grounds. However, better to do the right thing for the wrong reason then keep doing the wrong thing right!
4 comments
steve says:
August 13, 2010 at 2:10 pm (UTC 12 )
wouldn’t this put off some conservative national voters? then again, who else would they vote for? Act? NZ First? United? still suggests the govt could do it.
rauparaha says:
August 13, 2010 at 5:55 pm (UTC 12 )
Would they become international pariahs?
EbolaCola says:
August 13, 2010 at 10:30 pm (UTC 12 )
Matt, just read Ben Elton http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Society_%28novel%29 and fantasize about drug reform.
JiveKitty says:
August 14, 2010 at 9:12 pm (UTC 12 )
Why aren’t they legalising and taxing drugs? Probably because they are very cautious. They’ve won the centre and they don’t want to lose it. Furthermore, in Simon Power they have an individual who seems strongly opposed to any such reform, even though it may be more consistent policy and even though there is supporting evidence for many presently illegal social drugs being less harmful than the presently legal social drugs.
@Steve: I don’t think the majority of swing voters who would be moved on the issue of drug reform would be inclined to go to anybody other than the ACT party in this case. However, if Act were true to their principles, they couldn’t oppose drug reform (although I suppose there’s the dangerous assumption that those swing voters wouldn’t go to Labour which I’m not sure would be the case). I assume that’s why it seems they tend to obfuscate about their view when asked (from recollection). Of course, they are more a conservative party these days anyway, I think, but it probably serves them better to neither admit that nor deny it.