I Got Burned by Obama

Family and friends have asked me to comment on the new tax placed on the services offered by tanning salons, which went into effect July 1 under the Obamacare New Deal. Feelings are that this is discriminatory and racist, pretty much a special tax on white people. I would be glad to weigh in, and meant to do so long before now.

This definitely looks like a targeted tax on me. And it is. First, let me provide some information from someone who actually uses these services.

I have used tanning salon services off and on for the last 25 years. I am a fair-skinned person who goes to the salon for one month out of the year in the late spring, to establish a light base tan to avoid a horrible shock-scorch during outdoor summer activities. I begin with 6-8 minutes of exposure, working slowly up to 15 minutes by the end of the month, always using protective eye gear and appropriate lotions before and after each exposure. And I do not go every day, usually every 3 days.

The special lotions designed for pre- and post-care (sold at the salon) are far superior to anything one can buy anywhere else. They soften and re-moisturize skin, and they do not mess around. These lotions accelerate the process, lessening overall actual exposure time.

I recently visited a dermatologist to make sure I have no melanoma, which I do not. I personally believe a bad diet can place one more at risk for cancer than careful, occasional tanning.

Another consideration: I personally know people whose dermatologists have PRESCRIBED careful, controlled exposure as a way to decrease and control severe, life-altering, scarring acne…so we have Obamacare placing additional taxation upon some people’s cure for certain medical problems. Oops. I’m sure lawmakers meant to put a “sin tax” on a behavior they’ve been told is cancer-causing.

An interesting Wikipedia article on Light Therapy discusses UVA and UVB (the types of ultraviolet light used in bulbs in different tanning beds) for psoriasis and eczema and acne…there’s even been some positive results for those suffering from different types of depression.

I’m sure dermatologists are loving this…Obamacare runs the tanning salons out of business, and the patients have to come to their offices where they have set up tanning beds and can charge insurance companies outrageous prices for “treatments.” Because that is the unintended effect of taxation that idiotic lawmakers NEVER SEEM TO GET!! Have these assholes never taken an economics class?

It’s called the “Substitution Theory of Economics.” People will simply use substitutes for the goods for which the cost has increased due to taxation. This new tax will not result in increased tax revenue for the government. People will now resort to the much more harmful behavior of “laying out” in their backyards for hours, with no careful timing or careful application of healing re-hydration lotions. Salons go out of business. Jobs are lost. Economy is hurt. Incidence of melanoma rises. Health care costs increase. LOSE-LOSE-LOSE. Dermatologists get RICH-RICH-RICH.

Or more people will just buy their own tanning bed to set up in their house and use indiscriminately. No supervision. No professional input.

Another pesky detail: Salons offer non-UVA/B-exposure choices. You know, sunless tanning, all-over body spraying, etc. Are these taxed as well? There’s no “sin” attached here. No bad cancer-causing behavior to be discouraged by Uncle O.

But, we haven’t really addressed the race issue yet. Do darker-skinned people use tanning salon services as often as light-skinned people do? No. A few do, but by and large, no. Hey, what about gender? Do men use tanning services as often as women do? No. A few do, but by and large, no.

All of these puzzle pieces viewed together suggest to me one thing: Targeted RACISM AND SEXISM. Which really pisses me off because I distinctly remember Obama saying on my television screen there would be NO increased taxes for people with incomes below x-y-z. I’m well below x-y-z, however I am w-h-i-t-e (or let me clarify, mostly Caucasian with fair skin tone) and a g-i-r-l. The bastard lied. Plain and simple.

This is the part that makes me the angriest. After all the little pissant tanning salons have been sacrificed (and frankly, we all know that the tanning salons are tiny businesses with no power or clout owned by women serving women, barely making enough to cover their rent), Obamacare’s so-called funding and consumer protection objectives will still not be achieved. Stoopid.