Obama's First Tax Hike
Yesterday President Obama signed legislation expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), relying largely on a 156-percent increase in the federal cigarette tax to fund it. As Americans for Tax Reform notes, Obama's support for the SCHIP bill violates his campaign promise not to raise taxes on families earning less than $250,000 a year.
Here is how he put it last September in Dover, News Hampshire (emphasis added):
“I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.”
Not only does raising the federal cigarette tax from 39 cents to $1 a pack break this promise it is pretty much the most regressive way Congress could have chosen to fund SCHIP expansion, not only because excise taxes take a bigger chunk of income from the poor than from the rich but also because there's an inverse correlation between income and smoking. Furthermore, the beneficiaries of the SCHIP expansion will in many cases be more affluent than the people picking up the tab. How does any self-identified progressive justify this sort of income redistribution?
SOURCE: http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200902041430DOWJONESDJONLINE000695_FORTUNE5.htm
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
31 comments:
LOL rich people smoke too,the taxes just will not affect them as badly.
I have no problem with children getting healthcare but some states allow families making up to 100k a year (NJ and NY come to mind)to get free health insurance for their kids and thats outrageous!
and the tax hikes begin. Personally this one doesn't effct me since I've never smoked BUT I'm smart enough to know it will eventually get to me too. It's just the beginning. Gotta pay for the stuff somehow RP
I knew it I knew it I knew it
How in the world did anyone every believe that a President would not raise taxes and get rid of a HUGE debt and increase the work force hahahahahahahaha to all you believed that he would'nt rais taxes
In my persionel openion if the money is going to help the kids then so be it and i have no problem with it....So long as that is where it is going.
Wow. You could knock me over with a feather. A politician {pick a politician; any politician} violates a promise not to raise taxes. {Gasp!} Isn't that roughly comparable to a Kirstie Alley promise not to eat your ham sandwich?
Does Obama have to pay since he is a smoker or will he be like other rich Dems and "forget'.
One thing not well known about this tobacco tax increase that will fund the SCHIP program is, there will have to be another 25 million people that need to take up smoking to generate enough extra tax money to cover this program.
This isn't a tax on families making less than a quarter million, no matter how much you twist it.
It may affect families making less than a quarter million, but it's not a tax on them.
The reference was to income taxes and you know it.
Worry less about Obama undermining his credibility and worry more about undermining your own.
Suddenly you care about the poor (as long as they smoke)?
Too funny.
If you don't like it, QUIT SMOKING!
They didnt raise the tax on all SMOKE.
My smokes aren't taxed at all. Two Sentz the point is YOUR candidate lied again. Take off those liberal blinders and see the light.
if you dont want to pay the tax, dont smoke, or roll your own.
I don't know how to make these big fat cigars!!!!
HAHAHAHA me either joe but i dont think you cigars get much bigger lol
ive seent his happen to md, they raise the cig tax, people went to del and va to buy cig's
now people will quit, less tax income.
get ready, its just the start
"I don't know how to make these big fat cigars!!!!"
Call the firm of Clinton & Lewinsky. Hand rolled and flavored...
i just hope they dont tax my weed
Obama would break his pledge only if total taxes increase.
He never promised to not impose Pigovian taxes.
When you couple this tax increase with his other efforts, he's on rather safe ground. Once he gets his big tax cut past the GOP naysayers, he can push for all sorts of little taxes...
Frankly, I'm more upset that Bush imposed a 300% import tax on Roquefort cheese just before leaving office.
Didn't Bush break the same promise in that?
The liberals will be defending this by saying he just mean "income taxes." They have a way a twisting things. I say to the liberals, It's your lie, tell it how you want to!Let the taxation and spending begin. "Tax and spend". Pelosi and Barry are taking us to the cleaners, get ready folks.
Could this be considered descrimination against smokers ?
I would tax that crap too. I don't understand why people chose to kill themselves, and use that excuse that "well I'm going to die from something". What a cop out!
Oh my gawd this is so easy it's pitiful....Dont want to pay the tax?? DONT SMOKE!
I dont smoke, I'm not worried!
I don't understand why the smokers don't rise up.
How many more times can the state and federal governments raise a tax on ANYTHING and tell you the funds raised will pay for _____?
What they tell you the funds will pay for never seems to come to fruition.
How many times have you heard "the cigarette tax increase will pay for education? Or how 'bout, it will pay for roads?
They're lying AGAIN.
Bet if they taxed beer and liquor like they do cigarettes, there would be a whole bunch of people rise up, especially here on the Shore.
As for the people who keep saying "just quit"....if you have never smoked, you have NO clue as to how hard of a thing to do this is.
I am now smoke free, but I will tell you it was NOT easy and now I deal with the lingering effects from the medication which helped me to quit.
Some days I wonder if it was the right choice but then someone who smokes heavily will walk by me and then I remember one of the main reasons I quit....the smell on my clothes.
I was determined not to turn into one of those "ex-smokers" who now are so self-righteous they make me sick.
Yeh, Joe, this one will hit you in the pocket since you smoke cigars. But it seems worthwhile to me (who quit smoking about 40 years ago) since it will do more to stop the teens from smoking than anything else we can do.
hmmm lets see. The gov wants us all to go green. They wanted us all to get the hybrid cars. Many did and they lost money in the gas tax. Now if people stop smoking and they dont get the tax from that where will they be looking?
Quite frankly I think it should be raised. If you don't like it, quit smoking. Both rich people and poor people smoke. And one thing that makes me madder then a hornet(since I sued to work for the very program your speaking of funding) is that "poor people" used to come in saying they couldn't afford their kids medicine for their sinus infections and asthma....I would ask for the paperwork for the program...they would dig through their purses and yank out 3 and four packs of digs to pull it out.
How much did that cost them> Most certainly enough to get the kids medicine. Especially with walmart and the RX help they have. Even worse, I go outside on break afterwards and there they go, driving off sick kids in the car, puffing away on cigs with the windows up and the kids in the car (remember I mentioned sinus infections and asthma).
But thats right, its THEIR kids and they can do what they want to do to them. They can take their health down whenever they want...yup yup.
I say raise the darn cigarette taxes and put the money into kids health care. There certainly is NOT enough money there these days.
Anon 1:38
it is proven that more lower income people smoke than higher income people. So yes it does impact the lower income more than the higher income. Not justifying smoking, but it is a proven fact. If they want to raise taxes on something how about shooting up the taxes on wines and liquor? Now that would kick the high class or wanna be high class in the gonads.
No one wants to quit more than I, couldnt afford it before, addictions are never pleasant. There was already a ridicules tax on cigs. This tax bill affects ALL tobacco products, not just cigs.
For all you that are ignorant about addictions and are "ok" with more tax, let his next tax bill be something that affects your vises, something you enjoy or cant or wont want to do without {150% increase}. You missed the point! Obama lies just like the rest of them! I hope the next tax bill chokes the life right out of you.
Quit smoking I would tax the Hell out of smoker's too. At least its not a direct tax. You smoke you pay. Take your money and put food on the table a 5 -10 dollar a day habit gets expensive. I bet those same poor people will be asking for food stamps.
I don't think anybody would honestly complain about ANY taxes if the taxes were the same for all.
But to keep going back on one section of our society and tax them over and over is just not right.
There are other areas which could be taxed that would raise even more money. The problem is, somebody thinks that by going after the smokers, that it will make them quit.
It will not do that. In fact, it will make some of them smoke even more out of spite, thus increasing their inability to quit.
So, go ahead, keep picking on those smokers....I hope they all blow smoke in your face the next time you walk out the door of the bar the next time you've had a few drinks and get behind the wheel of your car with the chance of killing someone because you were stupid.
Smoking is legal, drinking and driving is not, but people get away with it every day.
WOW WHAT A SURPRISE A DEMOCRAT WHO RAISES TAXES MAN NEVER SAW THAT COMING
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