On Taxing Cars or Horses in 1912

Should taxes be used to discourage behavior? The Daily Mirror thought so 100 years ago as they argued horses should be taxed instead of cars:

The Despised Horse
“The London Daily Mirror published a trenchant editorial on the foolish- ness of taxing automobiles for the use of city streets: ‘The horse is a danger and a nuisance in the streets of a large city. We hear a lot of motor-car street taxes, but it is the horse which should be taxed, not the motor car. The horse is unhygienic, erratic and occupies too much space. Tax the horse as you would dogs, and leave the motor cars alone!’ ”

Source (gated).