home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- Path: sparky!uunet!gossip.pyramid.com!pyramid!infmx!neilw
- From: neilw@informix.com (Neil Williams)
- Newsgroups: misc.consumers
- Subject: Re: Canadian proof (not) that taxation lowers cigarette consumption
- Message-ID: <1993Jan11.211922.13390@informix.com>
- Date: 11 Jan 93 21:19:22 GMT
- References: <1993Jan6.181208.10712@merlin.dev.cdx.mot.com> <27763@syba <1is2tvINNmrm@meaddata.meaddata.com>
- Sender: news@informix.com (Usenet News)
- Organization: Informix Software, Inc.
- Lines: 36
-
- In article <1is2tvINNmrm@meaddata.meaddata.com> dedek@meaddata.com (Mike Dedek) writes:
- >
- >In article <27763@sybase.sybase.com>, joe@sybase.com (Joseph Weinstein) writes:
- >|> Dean Edell on KGO revealed some data about canadian tobacco consumption, where
- >|> taxation raised the cost of cigarettes to about $3 a pack. The data show that
- >|> prior to the tax increase, per capita consumption was equal to the U.S. In the
- >|> few years since the taxation the consumption rate has dropped by 30%.
- >|>
- >This is not proof! This is correlation. Have _all_ other variables remained
- >constant during the study? For example, were the subjects of the study
- >exposed to other pressures to quit, such as adverse health information,
- >inability to smoke in certain environments, etc?
- >
- >Since 1900 in the US, personal income tax has increased dramatically
- >(from 0% to currently 28% or thereabouts). The standard of living has
- >also increased. Does this prove that increasing personal income tax
- >causes an increase in the standard of living? If so, we should all lobby
- >for increased taxes!
-
- Here's another one: the higher the crime rate in any given area,
- the more churches per square foot are likely to be in the area.
-
- Conclusion: churches cause crime!
-
- :-)
-
- This gem from my statistics class way back when they were pounding
- the correlation vs. causation difference into our heads.
-
- --Neil
-
- --
- Neil Williams: neilw@informix.com
-
- Seen on my last trip on United: "If you are seated in an exit row
- and can not (sic) read this card... please notify a crew member."
-