A Tax Increase is a Tax Increase

While this is assuredly nitpicky, this is a pet peeve of mine. While I'm generally in favor of public-health targeted taxes, it is decidedly not the case that if you increase taxes on product X, overall consumption will not be affected and people will just buy less X and more not X. Because a tax increase is a tax increase - and just like increasing the sales tax generally will depress consumption, a targeted sales tax increase will decrease consumption. Now, clearly, a targeted tax increase on one sort of product will cause a much smaller drop in consumption, but it won't be neutral. Just like when you build a new lane on a road, it does actually decrease congestion. Aure, adding a 3rd lane doesn't cut congestion by 2/3rds, but there isn't a 50% increase in traffic either - more people take the road, and there's a small drop in congestion, but its still a reduction.

Just more proof that Klein Sucks, Yglesias Rules.