If the government wants to raise more revenue what makes more sense, legalizing all drugs and prostitution?

[Bad Things Happen]

and taxing the sin industry at 40% or taxing the rich at 40%?

[victoriousWarrior855]

Taxing the rich at 40%, obviously. I'd favor a national lottery; lotteries were used in the early days of the nation for financing, so there's precedent for it.

[Haunter]

Right, legalize drugs and profit off of peoples addictions.

See, you're thinking in terms of dollars and cents. With apparently no regard for the social consequences of legalizing drugs. Like the fact that industries will emerge to exploit them, and the bottom-feeders on the street who use them.

[Gary]

Prostitution of course. Nevada has legalized it for many years now. Nevada has no state tax unlike other states.

[BASH]

Republicans oppose all of the above.

[tribeca_belle]

I think you're trying to argue that it is an either/or proposition. Why not do all of those things?

[Snake Bait]

Why not just let the free market work and have a flat tax rate.

The reason we are in trouble is liberals keep screwing with the free market and trying to social engeneer people. And create and select outcomes rather than let people reach their full potential on their own.

If you are going to legalize all deviant behavior why not legalize murder as well and issue permits. $10,000 per contract.

[Wiley Begonay]

Neither one.

Legalizing and taxing the sin industry is perhaps not a bad idea, but 40% is too confiscatory, and will encourage Black markets to still exist.

The problem with taxing the rich is there just simply are not enough of them.

[Dr Redthumb]

taxing the rich. Legalizing drugs etc will not automatically result in increased taxation. There are huge profits in drugs, if they charge taxes that keep a legitimate supply at the same price as an illegal supply, the criminal networks will undercut the legal supply and continue to sell them simply because they do not pay taxes. If they just charge ordinary sales taxes they will not actually raise much money because the production costs are so low. The drug market may be worth 100 billion, but the actual cost of the drugs is probably closer to 1 billion. For instance, a kilo of methamphetamine costs about $500 to produce.

[Answery]

For the moment, taxing the rich at 40%. It would take to long to regulate all of those industries and build them up to the point where that tax money would even represent real progress.