Broken promises (or Liar, liar)
February 10, 2009
Do any of you remember this shit?
It didn’t take long to break that promise. The SCHIP program is “paid for” with an increase in federal excise taxes on cigarettes.
From the Tax Foundation:
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 95.8% of tobacco expenditures are made by consumer units (people spending together) who earn under $150,000 a year. Essentially all of this tax increase will be paid by families earning less than $250,000, and probably those earning substantially less than that.
Great start BO.
February 11, 2009 at 9:55 am
Politicians.. What are ya gonna do?
February 11, 2009 at 6:31 pm
Funny you bring up the GHWB tax increase. George Bush’s initial plan was to increase excise taxes on gasoline. That idea went down in flames because Democrats at the time thought that excise taxes fell too heavily on the poor.
It also took GHWB two years to raise taxes compared to BO’s two weeks.
February 11, 2009 at 7:11 pm
There is always something to complain about. Republicans had a fit in the 1930s when FDR went about fixing the Great Depression.
I cannot wait for the working people to get to work and our economy to make its way back and then in 2010 vote some more pissers out of office – the ones who are working against us right now.
Can. Not. Wait.
February 11, 2009 at 7:22 pm
I’ll take that as a “no comment” on taxing the poor to fund a middle class entitlement.
As for FDR “fixing” the Great Depression, I suggest you look at unemployment rates during his New Deal. He didn’t fix much.
February 13, 2009 at 9:15 am
I view “sin” taxes as fees, pretty much. I know you love your ciggies, but tobacco costs society mucho dinero in increased health care costs and lost productivity. Don’t get me wrong: people should be able to smoke (include pot in there, if you’d like), but the societal costs ought to be passed along to smokers (even if they’re poor).
February 13, 2009 at 10:02 am
I view “sin” taxes as fees
You can view it any way you like but that doesn’t make an excise tax a “fee”.
tobacco costs society mucho dinero
Absolutely false. Smokers (and fat people) end up saving the government money by not living as long as non-smokers (see here and here).
So you are advocating that a largely poor minority, with no political power, be targeted for a tax to fund a middle class health entitlement
February 13, 2009 at 12:24 pm
True, to a degree, but ciggies are a choice; food is not.
February 13, 2009 at 6:35 pm
What does that have to do with promoting fair and sound tax policies? According to this, the government needs 22 million people to start smoking in order to fund SCHIP through 2017. Does that sound like good tax policy to you Dave?
February 13, 2009 at 11:23 pm
and to what degree is it not true?