Chris Edwards on Regressive Cigarette Taxes

[032125]

Tobacco is only a test case to get the camel's nose under the tent, and establish a legal precedent. Then comes fatty foods. Then religion, then free speech, free thoughts, and other nasty, inconvenient social phenomena that bothers the political class.

[azumonkey]

can't the feds just fuck off? Just this once?

[bweazel]

This is such bullshit. I'm sick of you nonsmokers. Grow the hell up. Mind your own business.

[chillinwitjoe]

If you can't tax the smokers with this scheme, who do you think they'll be scheming after next?

[masflojo]

FYI. My parents found an Indian Reserve in Canada online that sells cigarettes very cheap, no taxes, and they do not report your purchase to the U.S. Because I know if Michigan finds out you purchased cigarettes in bulk outside the country and they know how much you bought they send you a check in back taxes.

[transformer889]

Tax increase on tobacco was a smoke screen to expand SCHIP to children up to age of 30 who still live with mom. The logic of anti smoking nazis does not add up, if they want people to quit smoking then who is going to fund the SCHIP. Of course SCHIP can not be totally funded by smokers and soon government has to print more money, first step in socialized medicine. Say it for children almost anything will pass the Gongress.

[MooseOfReason]

What a great argument to legalize marijuana!

[LastTrueLiberal]

"quite a leap forward". This is an understatement. It is a great leap forward.

[1czelaya]

I'm not a smoker and I dont condone smoking either.However,from the video this is going to hit the poor and the middle class more than anyone. Government has no right to dictate our own private lives.This is just more intervention that allows government more access & influence into our private lives.1 segment of society should not have to sponser another outlet for govt. Its going 2 be another broken promise by govt. who does NOTHING efficiently or comes close to its promise.

[daveyg07]

Let me get this straight...

We care about children so we're going to provide healthcare to them.

We are going to fund this program by raising the taxes on smokers.

So we place the funding of our children's healthcare on a program that will reduce the number of smokers? Because we also care about smokers and want them to stop... but we need them to fund children's healthcare... but I thought taxes will reduce smokers, thus reducing the funding..

this makes sense how? anyone? anyone?

[LastTrueLiberal]

The number of smokers won't decrease enough so as to make revenue gains by the tax increase unlikely.

[daveyg07]

yeah too bad in the SCHIP they say they need to INCREASE the number of smokers by 22% to fully fund this program. And they just passed a measure in the stimulus bill to try and DECREASE the amount of smokers. There is no reasoning in Washington, none. This is pure delusion on the part of our 'beloved' politicians. It's high time to realize the state does nothing but make problems worse.

[Garboth]

Just like expanding health care whilst cutting taxes for 95% of Americans and not bringing any troops home. Where's the money?. But hey, he said we just had to believe in the change, he didn't say we had to think about it or think it makes any sense.

[matahaari]

All they gov has to do to fully fund SCHIP is recruit 22 million more smokers. But its OK because there is $75 Million in the stimulus bill for quit smoking programs.

[littlebier8]

Evil assholes. All they are going to do is create a huge black market for tobacco!

[toolshed333]

It already exists at a state level. Cross boarder trafficking from states to states is illegal, but happens very often.

[a4finger]

if u force ppl to change, then they haven't really changed

[AndyMH182]

It's time to overthrow the government. It's not the government's job to force us into deciding to not smoke, and they don't serve us anymore.

[Elasaltaculos]

"A leap forward" indeed.

Sadly, this is actually a legal tax as far as I know, for it is an excise.

[goose1077]

If they push the tax high enough, the black market will surge.

[Amy31415]

It's probably already happening, goose1077.

While I despise all taxes and avoid them as much as possible, I understand taxing "luxury" items. That said, if they go too high, it's just the same as making them illegal.

Why is this world so illogical?

[goose1077]

I read about New York. There is a big black market there.

[mattdruid]

You better get out there and get smoking. Those kids need health care!

[CarryANation]

Not really surprising that the CATO institute is promoting Tobacco Company Propaganda. CATO would stand up for the rights of heroin dealers to sell to children, after all, it's a free market. There really isn't anything CATO wouldn't stoop to to protect the rich and powerful.

[unodepoalli]

a boooooooooooooooooooo

[migkillertwo]

Heroin should be legal. I own my body, no one else does. No one else can decide what I can do with my body except for me!

[CarryANation]

17 years old, never tried heroin, probably never knew any junkies, but is CONFIDENT of his rights to heroin regardless of what anyone else in society says! The Libertarian philosophy justifies it!

Certainly doesn't know the history of heroin and how it gets spread.

And here is CATO, catering to his ignorance so as to cover for their donors, the tobacco companies and others who prey on the weak.

Keep reading these origins of Christianity books kid, it's important. You'll grow out of Ayn Rand

[zombiechaddy]

CarryANation: Ayn Rand didn't like Libertarians.

[harryogre]

wow

CarryANation

Thats a deeply stupid post.

You must be proud of yourself.

Have you ever tried thinking?

You may like it for a change.

[DaveDoggOwns]

Absurdity. That would be against the interests of the tobacco company to legalize drugs. You have it completely backwards sir. If you truely hate the tobacco companies then you would legalize drugs.

[CarryANation]

DDO that doesn't follow. The tobacco companies are a drug company, if heroin was legal they could put that into their product line as well. Drug companies like Altria don't have to be limited to just one addictive killer drug, there are many they could market to children, if we could just let the free market work.

CATO should help popularize Herry the Heroin Hedgehog, get a spot on Saturday cartoons. If the child consumer rejects it, hey - let the free market work!

Smoking is cool.

[DaveDoggOwns]

"DDO that doesn't follow. The tobacco companies are a drug company, if heroin was legal they could put that into their product line as well."

To market herion they would have to completely overhaul their business model. They would be in a better position to market marijuana, but you can't copywrite marijuana. No more people would be buying tobbaca if marijuana were legal. Only those allready addicted.

[zombiechaddy]

CarryANation: oops, didn't see this comment of yours first. Didn't realize you're a complete moron who doesn't understand the concept of a free market.

[whoo689]

Last but not least, statistics show that there has been a sharp DECLINE in the number of smokers since the past several decades. Besides, have we ever had more than 50% smoking adults in the majority of our history? I doubt it. But all these anti-smoking folks, for whatever reason, won't acknowledge this. They keep acting like things are JUST AS BAD as the 80s or 90s.

[whoo689]

I wish these anti-smoking zealots would just go away already. When are they gonna give up this useless fight? People smoke! So the hell what? It's none of your business what individual adults do on their own time. What these people really wanna do is just control people, but they cloak their true intentions behind "public health concerns." It's the same for any collectivist, conservative or liberal. They're too scared to let individuals choose because they might make the "wrong" decision.

[whoo689]

Public health care advocates are such douchebags. They can justify anything in the name of "public health". It's absurd! Stop being so damn collectivist and pay attention to the individual, for once. Most people don't need your "protection". They can do fine on your own without all these anti-smoking groups "representing" them.

Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids? Come on! Seriously? They think they can really get 2 million kids off tobacco? doubtful. It's idealist bullcrap.

[whoo689]

Actually, Obama, in a decent society, the gov't doesn't tax personal behavior prohibitively. It's social engineering at its worst. How would the liberals like it if we taxed, say, strip clubs or pornography? Or overtaxed alcohol? How about junk food? Food in general?

[Auggie56]

Don't give em any ideas !