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What is your personal opinion on the proposed tax increase on a pack of cigarettes for the health insurance of needy children?
They are supposed to raise a pack to $1.00 fed tax per pack. I can say that even though I know it is not healthy to smoke, and smokers should try to quit, it is not fair to burden the smokers with this unfair tax. They need to find another way to pay. Any comments?
Technically, the tax isn't a "voluntary tax". Ask anyone who has been addicted to nicotine for 40 years.
IMHO this bill went entirely too far. Bush has already funded the original program for another five years. The actual children who live in poor families will receive the same free healthcare they have always received. It's the propoganda being spread around that "Bush doesn't care about healthcare for poor children."
If you study the actual bill, it shows that it would extend the benefits to children who live in families who make up to 82,000 per year. SO, I say that if your income is in that area, provide healthcare for your own child.
I want to know when all the smokers quit, what are they going to tax to fund all their programs... That is something for everyone to think about. Sodas? Fast Food? Gas? That money will have to come from somewhere.
I want to know when all the smokers quit, what are they going to tax to fund all their programs... That is something for everyone to think about. Sodas? Fast Food? Gas? That money will have to come from somewhere.
You're right. It will come out of our pockets one way or another. IMHO the children of people who really are struggling do belong in this program and they ARE being cared for now. But the people at the higher end are very capable of providing healthcare for their children. They would be able to drop the family healthcare policy and only have insurance on themselves. All the Drs. visits, surgeries, everything would be covered at the expense of the taxpayers. I'm glad that Bush didn't let this pass. We'd have a monkey on our backs for years to come.
I want to know when all the smokers quit, what are they going to tax to fund all their programs... That is something for everyone to think about. Sodas? Fast Food? Gas? That money will have to come from somewhere.
Everyone who is thinking this is just desserts for all the evil smokers needs to think again. Who is willing to sacrifice their personal freedoms next? How about people who are overweight? What about taxing junkfood? How about weighing in at a restaurant to determine if you are allowed to order dessert? If I own a business, you can now tell me I have to disallow legal activities on my property. So now it's ok to ostrasize and exclude groups of people who don't fit into your norm. As soon as society thinks this is a great idea, we can move on to bigger and better things like discriminating against people based on the color of their skin or religious preferences.
I guess everyone's personal freedoms but yours are up for grabs! And I'm not trying to be mean. Not understanding history means we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over.
Last edited by yellowsnow; 11-12-2007 at 01:21 AM..
Reason: spelling
yellowsnow ...BINGO! They are already starting on the obese people. CBS news did a thing on some company who has put a clause in their medcial plan for their employees.. If they smoke, are over weight or have cholesterol over 160, they have a very large deductable until they meet their "standard of normal"... Cholesterol of 160? That is NOT healthy or normal!
Technically, the tax isn't a "voluntary tax". Ask anyone who has been addicted to nicotine for 40 years.
IMHO this bill went entirely too far. Bush has already funded the original program for another five years. The actual children who live in poor families will receive the same free healthcare they have always received. It's the propoganda being spread around that "Bush doesn't care about healthcare for poor children."
If you study the actual bill, it shows that it would extend the benefits to children who live in families who make up to 82,000 per year. SO, I say that if your income is in that area, provide healthcare for your own child.
Addicted to nicotine for 40 years? I get that it's tough to quit but it can't be that tough. Plenty of people manage to quit. And since it's been 40 years or so since word got out that smoking causes cancer, why is anyone still smoking anyway? Why is there even a tobacco industry anymore? Cigarettes are the only product that I know of that, when used as directed, cause cancer, heart disease, etc.
I'm a nonsmoker who's health has been adversely affected by secondhand smoke so I don't have a lot of sympathy for smokers. And I'm sick of looking at cigarette butts all over the beaches around here. Local groups organize beach cleanups, go around picking up all the trash and butts, a few days later they're back. Beaches are not ashtrays.
Yeah, I think people making $80K ought to pay for their own kids' healthcare but they're gonna tax something and I'd rather they go for 'sin' taxes.
Addicted to nicotine for 40 years? I get that it's tough to quit but it can't be that tough. Plenty of people manage to quit. And since it's been 40 years or so since word got out that smoking causes cancer, why is anyone still smoking anyway? Why is there even a tobacco industry anymore? Cigarettes are the only product that I know of that, when used as directed, cause cancer, heart disease, etc.
I'm a nonsmoker who's health has been adversely affected by secondhand smoke so I don't have a lot of sympathy for smokers. And I'm sick of looking at cigarette butts all over the beaches around here. Local groups organize beach cleanups, go around picking up all the trash and butts, a few days later they're back. Beaches are not ashtrays.
Yeah, I think people making $80K ought to pay for their own kids' healthcare but they're gonna tax something and I'd rather they go for 'sin' taxes.
I agree with you.
I'm not addicted to nicotine but I am addicted to chocolate so one day I had to make a decision to stop eating so much chocolate or I would continue to gain weight, become obese and die. I didn't quit but I did cut back and I lost weight.
I don't understand why people want to continue to smoke when they can cut back or better off, quit. Why do something that is going to kill you?
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