[quote=@catchamber] [hider=Quote][/hider] Regarding the sales tax revenue misappropriations, we should probably make petitions to hold those state representatives accountable. Thanks for providing the critical article. I'm also aware that the Chinese Communist Party has a habit of trying to spin news in its favor. I agree that Roosegaarde should've put his tower in an industrial area, and I'd like to see what would happen in such a scenario. I'd also like to see it tested in a city like Los Angeles. In comparison, a [url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2553058/]1996 study by McCubbin and Delucchi[/url] estimated a $450 billion upper bound to the societal cost of automobile caused air pollution in the USA. If we ignore inflation, and assume that lower emissions in the modern day are balanced out by higher populations and/or greater usage of gasoline fueled vehicles, this societal cost is still $85 billion over the combined health costs, mortality based economic losses, and most recent smoking treatment expenditures you listed. If the societal cost is actually 50% the estimated upper bound, it's still more than 50% the societal costs caused by cigarettes. I can accept that Roosegaarde's tower may not work as advertised, and that gasoline fueled cars might not cause as much damage to society as cigarettes. But, I'm alright with paying more sales taxes for cigarettes, especially if the higher prices force less people to smoke, and if the taxes are used to mass produce systems that can clean the air. If used properly, $16 billion or more can go a very long way. [/quote] You act like it's simple to re-appropriate public funds to a relevant and more effective program and then quickly suggest these funds are re-appropriated elsewhere.