In 1993, a US senator, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, said that we ought to forget gun control as a way to stanch criminal violence. It was hopeless, Moynihan pointed out: even if the sale of new guns was outlawed, there were already enough guns in homes and private hands to last the country for 200 years.
“On the other hand, we have only a three-year supply of ammunition.”
His solution: Increase the tax on bullets. He wouldn’t raise the tax on ammunition typically used for target shooting or hunting. But he proposed exorbitant taxes on hollow-tipped bullets designed to penetrate armor and cause devastating damage.
“10,000%” Mr. Moynihan said. That would have made the tax on a 20-cartridge pack of those bullets $1,500.
Imagine if it cost less to seek healthcare than to buy bullets.