Monthly Archives: August 2014

The Demand Curve Is Not Optional

Demand CurveWe will find ways to meet the supply:

 

More than half of the cigarettes for sale in New York are smuggled into the state illegally – the highest percentage in the country, according to a recent report from the Tax Foundation.

According to the non-partisan research group, increased excise taxes on cigarettes to discourage smoking have, in fact, created lucrative incentives for black market trafficking between states.

According to the report, 56.9 percent of the cigarettes sold in the Empire State are brought in from other states. New York state has the highest cigarette taxes in the country – a whopping $4.35 a pack. If you live in New York City, it’s another $1.50 per pack, bringing taxes to $5.85 per pack, with the overall cost of a pack in the city in the $12 to $15 range.

 

The One Percenters

 

1 percentTalking to a friend today and the concept of the 1% came up.

Who are the 1%:

  • Roughly 80 percent of millionaires in America are the first generation of their family to be rich.
  • Roughly a third were entrepreneurs or managers of nonfinancial businesses.
  • Nearly 16 percent were doctors or other medical professionals.
  • NYU sociologist Dalton Conley says that “higher-income folks work more hours than lower-wage earners do.”
  • The top 1 percent pay 36.7 percent of all federal income taxes
  • They earn just 16 percent of all income