Archive for the ‘poll tax’ tag
Reinstituing the Poll Tax #
Bruce Ackerman and Jennifer Nou offer the most interesting argument I’ve seen regarding the Supreme Court’s recent voter ID ruling:
Indiana’s law insists on a photo ID to vote, which in turn requires documents, like a birth certificate or passport, that verify identity. Getting these papers costs voters money as well as time and effort. This leads to the question the court failed to ask: Does the extra expense violate the absolute ban on all “taxes” imposed by the 24th Amendment?
Aren’t Pole Taxes Illegal? #
The answer is no. Poll taxes were abolished by the 24th Amendment. Pole taxes remain legal. And Texas now has one.
THERE is a new price to be paid for looking at naked women in Texas. On January 1st the state’s strip clubs began imposing a $5 surcharge for each visitor. The “pole tax,” as it is commonly called, is expected to bring the state an additional $40m in revenue each year. Most of the proceeds will go to programmes that support victims of sexual assault.
So I want to know, is this good government or and insane idea from the Texas’s legislature?