Support Early Childhood Education: Smoke More Cigarettes

The American Thinker ^ | April 13, 2013 | Chad Stafko

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

The Obama budget is finally out and there are, to no surprise, a potpourri of new tax hikes proposed, many of which are aimed at the "wealthy" among us.

Deep within the bowels of the colossal budget, however, lies a proposed tax that targets the poor among us and it is perhaps a precursor of other health-related taxes to come.

President Obama proposes raising the tax on cigarettes from $1.01 to $1.95 per pack--a whopping 93% increase in taxes. The White House estimates that the tax would raise $78.1 billion, of which around $66 billion would be used to fund pre-k education and around $11 billion used for expanded home visits and care for infants and toddlers.

Consider the impact of the tax on the taxpayer.  The 93% tax hike per pack of cigarettes affects lower income Americans far more than anyone else, making it a regressive tax.

You see back in 2009, President Obama signed into law another cigarette tax increase and according to a Gallup study done near that time, some 84% of cigarette smokers earn less than $60,000 per year, with 62% of smokers earning less than $36,000/yr. 

So, let's do a little math.  Suppose someone earns $30,000/year and smokes a pack of cigarettes per day for 365 days a year.  The federal taxes he pays in total for the year will jump to $712 from $369--leaving him paying $343 in additional taxes just to smoke.  That equates to shaving 1.15% of his income per year, a percentage of which could loom large for someone living paycheck to paycheck, as many are during Obama's presidency.

[Girlene]

Your (not you, specifically). insurance company could cancel your policy, refuse to pay, probably go after you for fraud if you lie. There are blood tests and I think urine tests for nicotine.

[Mears]

“Fatal heart attacks, stroke and lung cancer; not so much.”

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You may find this hard to believe but I actually knew lifelong non-smokers who died of heart attacks,strokes,and lung cancer.

Yep,they died.Kaput!

.

[terycarl]

Your (not you, specifically). insurance company could cancel your policy, refuse to pay, probably go after you for fraud if you lie. There are blood tests and I think urine tests for nicotine.

I didn't smoke when the policy was issued, but the extraordinary pressure on me since this Obamacare thing caused me to take up this terrible habit....I'm a victim you see...

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Eric Blair 2084]

You are 114 years old and smoke.:-)

Drano blames his bad genes and parents death on cigarettes. Ignore him. He is a witless and very disturbed and angry individual.