Thursday, January 06, 2005

Why we need a breast implant tax

Two days ago I blogged about the radio contest where the prize was a free breast augmentation surgery. Since then, I have been doing some additional thinking.

I agree with the National Organization for Women that breast augmentation surgery is a bad thing. An unnecessary medical procedure obviously brings needless health risks to the person undergoing the surgery.

Being a libertarian, I believe that people should be allowed to do whatever they want provided no one else is harmed. But does breast augmentation surgery harm others? I believe the answer is yes.

Breast augmentation surgery is a negative sum game. The surgery increases the recipient's attractiveness (because men are so stupid), but only at the expense of other women whose natural breasts become less attractive in comparison to the increasing population of surgically augmented women.

If every woman got breast augmentation surgery, it would not change the overall female attractiveness of society (because men would quickly become desensitized to seeing bigger breasts), but would have negative health effects because large numbers of women would suffer from post-surgery complications.

The typical liberal response might be the desire to make the surgery illegal. But I disagree. If a woman wants the surgery badly enough, she should be allowed to obtain it, but only if she pays back the externality she causes.

So I call for the implementation of a breast implant tax. Four thousand dollars for a pair of implants seems like an arbitrarily acceptable amount. With about a quarter of a million surgeries performed every year, the breast implant tax would raise a billion dollars of revenue annually. (Of course, demand for the procedure would decline after the tax was implemented, so we would raise somewhat less than a billion--but the whole purpose of the tax is to discourage the procedure, so this would be the desired effect.)

UPDATE

I wrote more on this subject: breast implant tax revisited.

28 comments:

AnotherGeek said...

Don't you think though that those women who signed up for that radio gig made their own decision on what they wanted to do. The radio station didn't force them to sign up for it....just my 2¢

Larry said...

I just had to say that I find your posts wickedly entertaining.

I don't necessarily agree that breast augmentation surgery increases the recipient's attractiveness. Noticeability is a different story. And I've never personally been harmed by breast augmentation.

Also, all men aren't stupid (though I certainly may be). I'd like to personally apologize on behalf of all men if your experience has indicated otherwise. At least you don't see a lot of men getting genital augmentation surgery to impress women. Of course that could be because we have no tolerance for pain (especially there).

I would discourage a tax for the simple reason that self esteem is a funny thing. Some women feel that their self-esteem is improved if their breasts are larger. Of course others feel that their earning potential is improved for the same reason.

Now if you were proposing a general tax on elective plastic surgery procedures that are not medically necessary I could see that, as it doesn't discriminate based on gender (or ephemeral self esteem).

Pete Harrigan said...

Taxing away negative externalities with an arbitrarily set dollar amount? Hand over your libertarian party card right now. I don't care if you are blond and hot, you can't say th.... wait, did I say I don't care if you are blond and hot? Sorry, I'm not making any sense.

Brian Macker said...

I hope this was an attempt at humor. Since when are externalities something that Libertarians worry about? Why is the negative externalities experienced by other women more important than the positive externalities of men?

This is a strange sort of negative externality you are claiming in that it rests on a positive one. After all the other women wouldn't be "less attractive in comparison" unless the positive externality were a fact.

So when are we going to start taxing makeup, hair dye, and bleach?

This whole post smacks of the stupid kids in a class being upset with the smart ones for "wrecking the curve" on the final.

Now had you framed your article in terms of fraudulent advertising then I might have bought it on libertarian grounds. But then the makeup would still have to go.

Libertarian Girl said...

Big breasts are like high heels: sexy but impractical.

Libertarian Girl said...

Should we force a tax on those who drive Hummers because it makes somone else feel bad that they can only drive a Ford and the man driving a Hummer is more attractive to women than men driving a Ford?This is a very good point! But the difference is that the Hummer doesn't harm the health of the person who buys it. Breast augmentation surgery can lead to health complications. Society would be better off if women competed by buying expensive clothes instead of by undergoing surgery.

Tim Swanson said...

Haha, come on now. Why not $8,000 or $1 million? You state yourself that it is entirely arbitrary... yet somehow I do not see how this moral outrage fleshes with the non-aggression principle (how exactly is the augmented woman initiating force against others?).

How about this, try to refrain from getting boob jobs and tell others to do the same.

Next thing you'll be wanting to tax or outlaw are pedicures, hair cuts, mini-skirts, wonderbras, tanning salons, shaved legs, et al., becuase they artificially inflate and enhance the image of a woman... at the expense of other women.

Libertarian Girl said...

Tanning salons cause cancer, so they fall under the same category as breast augmentation surgery. Tanning salons should also be taxed.

Adam Lawson said...

Hey hey hey. Don't judge us all here. I'll admit to liking big breasts*, but I would have serious issues dating a girl with implants. It's just one of those things that puts me off. I can't even explain why, breast implants just creep me out.

*And medium breasts, and small breasts. Perkiness matters more than size.

Old Blind Dog said...

Self mutilation (implants, piercings, tattoos, etc.) is evidence of deeper problems. I avoid people like this if at all possible. YMMV

Unknown said...

Well I'm gay, so I couldn't care less!

Publicola said...

LG,
You're actually supporting what is in essence a sin tax? A tax designed for th epurpose of prohibiting or reducing behavior that's viewed as unacceptable?

Here in Co the good socialists of this state did just that - 64 cents a pack on smokes. Now you can argue that smoking causes health problems in people (which varies with several factors) & that it's better for everyone if no one smokes.

But what should be addressed is not whether it's a good idea or not to discourage behavior that harms someone that engages in it, but is it really government's place to do so.

Taxes should be collected for one purpose only - to fund the necessary functions of government. Want people to stop engaging in a certain behavior? Then try education. It's a slippery ass slope we tread when we start using taxes for regulatory purposes rather than collecting revenue. Also at least one SCOTUS case towards the turn of the 19th century decided that was an unconstitutional exercise of government power.

As for the net harm to society - again educate not legislate. In this instance if women with smaller breasts feel neglected or out gunned so to speak they can either join the crowd or find other ways to compete.

But instead of stringing together a chain of causality that eventually results in harm I generally limit myself to objecting to things that cause direct & immediate harm to another individual. It's much simpler that way as it avoids some rather out there conclusions.

& just for the record there are a sizable number of guys (myself included) who don't value the size of the breasts more than the proportions of the lady they belong to. I know women seem to think that all guys like large breasts but this is simply not the case.

One last thing - wouldn't you say women who sleep with men on the first date cause economic harm to women who wait till at least the third? I mean it decreases their chance of getting one or two more dates before they have to decide whether or not to have sex with the guy. So under your logic for taxing breast enhancement surgery then we should also tax women who put out on the first date.

David Foster said...

I think you are kidding...the whole idea is just counter-libertarian.

But in case you're serious...I question the idea of "desensitization." Would you argue that, if an artist creates a great painting, it doesn't increase the amount of perceived beauty in the world, because it simply raises expectations? How is this different?

The above being a totally theoretical point...I think the operation is silly in almost all cases.

photoncourier.blogspot.com

Walt said...

Okay, I get it. I see the problem. Er, problems. But
I think I can suggest a compromise that might be acceptable.

Just do one of 'em.

jeremy h. said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
John T. Kennedy said...

If this post were a joke it would be a pretty good one.

Stephan Kinsella said...

Unless this is sarcasm, this is a sad thing to see. Has libertarianism come to this?

Plus, of course, if all women had nice endowments, it it would not be the same as now due to desensitization; the world would be a better place.

jeramiehieb said...

Sweet heart,

I see you have made a common mistake that I have found scattered throughout the political realm. You are assuming that you "know" what people want and what they need. That my dear is not called libertarianism, it's formally known as socialism.
One cannot ass-u-me larger breasts are in any way better or in higher demand than a set of nice perky ones. I don't have the numbers to back me up, but I personally know far more (4) women who have had their breasts surgically reduced over implants. Should they too pay your tax? And what about women who have lost a breast to breast cancer and would like an artifical replacement? Should they pay your tax? And why not add dental work?

You say men are dumb and want large breasts, but about woman who are attracted to women? Do you know what they want too?

Jeramie J Hieb
jEntertainment

P.S. To know the truth, most men care more about butts.

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