Smoking to Fund Healthcare

Here's an idea. Lets get a bunch of people together in a big room full of expensive furniture on inflated salaries and figure out more ways to break the economy. Here's an idea! Lets tax cigarette smoking even more! That's exactly what's going on right now as 17 senators, including 6 republics, have voted for an increase in cigarette tax. A major increase to boot. How much? 156%, that's how much. It equates to 69 cents more than the current 39 cent federal tax on cigarettes. The proposed bill will more than double the tax rate for over 50 million smokers across the nation. So you don't smoke cigarettes, you smoke cigars. Think you're safe? Not a chance. The bill will also include a $10 per-cigar tax.

So the question on the table is, why now? Why the attempt, and why such an enormous tax hike? The answer is simple but has left folks staggering. The tax will help fund the SCHIP (State Childrens Health Insurance Program) which insures over 6.6 million children of low income families who aren't quite poor enough to recieve Medicaid. In my opinion, this idea is daffy to say the least. Others agree, including our very own President, George Bush. He has stated publicly that if it comes to it he will veto the bill without a doubt.

Unfortunately the bill is gaining a lot of momentum, as the Democrats, now with 51 senators, may have the majority vote after the 2008 Elections. Can folks really be upset though? We as a people voted in a democratic majority and this is the kind of thing that can be expected. Tax hikes and more spending.

This is a poor way to establish funding for such a much-needed program in our country. NBC's George Lewis reports that anti-smoking campaigns, and outright bans across the country, appear to be cutting down on the number of smokers. To tax a group that has already decreased in hopes of funding a program is ludicrous.

This is not where the money is. This bill helps kids, yes, but improper tax hikes can break the economy. Science has proven that cigarettes are more addictive than heroine and have a greater relapse rate. It's undeterminable just how many smokers are going to break the habit over this. If a large number finally give up the cancer-stick then the funding for this program could be compromised. If a majority of smokers continue to smoke it will put a massive strain on an economy thats already stretched taught. People who were already living off limited income, from paycheck to paycheck, will be spending even more money to sustain their habit. Money that many families don't have.

Coming from someone who smokes, I can guarantee that this is going to cause me to give up smoking. I can actually say that I feel guilty doing so, because I know that the hundreds of dollars I spend a year on cigarette tax will no longer be in the system. How many people do you really think are going to take up smoking in the place of the people who quit if a pack of cigarettes cost more than the average minimum wage worker earns in an hour?

Finance Committee member Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., who voted for the tax hike, said it "connects the dots between a habit that drives up health care costs and health care for children. I see it as a two-fer: it discourages smoking and it connects costs and benefits."

Yeah, THAT makes sense. Did he think about what he was saying before he said it? He wants to discourage smoking, and then expect smoking to help fund the program. Carlos Mencia says it best: "Dee de deeee".

Don't mistake the way I've gone with this either. I would be more than willing to accept a tax hike, especially a staggered one, in some other form. I'm certianly not against supporting this particular healthcare program but I think that those supporting this bill will find that its similar to hanging from a tree while you cut it down with a chainsaw. You're eventually going to cut it down despite the odd angle, unfortunately you're going to take a header once you're done that could have been avoided with a bit more planning and foresight.