The tobacco tax climate in this country is very disturbing. In case you haven't heard, Congress is moving to pass the so-called S-CHIP legislation and Obama has said he'll sign it. This bill would provide education dollars for kids' programs by taxing primarily cigarettes (61 cents per pack) and cigars (up to $3.00 per cigar), but pipe tobacco will be hit for about $1.70 per pound. Granted, the tax for pipe smokers isn't a huge sum, but once they start increasing taxes, it's not likely to stop.
Adding to the annoyance, if you poke around the net, you'll find many studies that conclude that the federal government will need thousands of additional (new) smokers each year for this SCHIP funding vehicle to be financially feasible. So, once again, tobacco users are the politically correct target despite flawed financial reasoning, as they assume the taxpayers won't object to the programs if (gasp!) the ugly tobacco users are paying.
Polically correct politicians are often a deliberately ignorant and short-sighted group - especially with this legislation - but we'll pay for their stupidity.
Adding to the annoyance, if you poke around the net, you'll find many studies that conclude that the federal government will need thousands of additional (new) smokers each year for this SCHIP funding vehicle to be financially feasible. So, once again, tobacco users are the politically correct target despite flawed financial reasoning, as they assume the taxpayers won't object to the programs if (gasp!) the ugly tobacco users are paying.
Polically correct politicians are often a deliberately ignorant and short-sighted group - especially with this legislation - but we'll pay for their stupidity.