Posted on 04/24/2009 6:17:38 AM PDT by TeknoBeck
Let’s face it, times are tough. With the federal excise-tax increase just going into effect on smokers (and some are bound to be unemployed), it is a cold slap in the face.
A friend I know who teaches in prison was talking to a teen inmate who said he was glad excise taxes on cigarettes were going so sky high. When he was questioned why, he replied, “It gives me one more thing I can sell on the street.”
Organized crime, street gangs and terrorists are not stupid. They know a good opportunity when the see it. Cigarette smuggling will explode, leading to even more of a misery index for the common citizen. The potential black market for reasonably priced cigarettes could greatly outpace the demand for drugs because there are so many more smokers than drug users.
One could almost guarantee this happening because in the 1980s Canada tried the same thing, with a unreasonably high excise-tax rate. Things got so bad that it was estimated that one of every two cigarettes sold was bought on the black market. Canada learned its lesson and cut the tax rate and the problem corrected itself.
With the inexpensive price of cigarettes in Mexico, the southern border could become even bloodier with tobacco smuggling in the mix. It is my opinion that the government has turned the gun on itself when it treats its own citizens this way, especially in tough times. If it doesn’t know that it is possible for criminals to offer a valuable public service when the government taxes like criminals, then maybe it needs to be taught.
The most undesirable among us can become too rich and too powerful to be dealt with if you give them something to work with and the opportunity. With excise taxes now sky high, even in the lowest tax rate states, they have been given the keys to a gold mine. Look at what Mexico is dealing with now with the drug cartels. We may have just handed them the keys to our future.
Dave Pickrell is president and founder of Smokers Fighting Discrimination Inc., a not-for-profit organization in Texas. SFD is 100 percent grassroots funded.
rockinqsranch worte:
“So I quit after 50 years of smoking. On my second week now without any real problems so far.”
You could not possibly have quit cold turkey. Nicotine is the most addictive substance on the planet, even more than heroine - so they say.
FYI, 40 years ago both my parent quit cold turkey, without patches or nicotine gum or clinics or anything else. They never looked back. My dad quit a year before my mom gave it up and in the mid 60s to boot (you could not escape smoke filled bars and restaurants back then).
I hope you continue to have no problems. Good for you.
The NappyOne
Idiots.
If the lawmakers would just read the smoking, tobacco tax threads on FR they would already KNOW these things.
We've only been shouting them from the rooftops for years now, more than a decade for some.
Libtard reasoning:
higher cig taxes cut down on smokers.
higher imcome taxes do not cut down on work.
$41/lb. Makes 3 cartons. Tubes are $1.99-$2.99/carton. Machines are $6.75-$43.75.
I bought a year’s supply in advance, but unless they raise the taxes again, under $18 a full carton is not that bad.
I do think the crime will escalate to the point where they are going to have to scale back. Meat, sugar and dairy eaters, take note. They will have to make up the money, somewhere. Of course, SCHIP is going to be totally overwhelmed by demand, there will never be enough money to support it and it is going to disappoint a lot of people, anyway.
Thanks, but realistically you are going to get about 2.5 cartons per lb tops because of the “shake”
D&R has repackaged as “pipe cut” to avoid the tax but it still works in injection machines http://www.smoke-n-chew.com/
20~30 per 14 oz bag. This is the best stuff on the market.
Interesting, thanx.
After I get somewhat over 2.5 cartons of 100mm cigarettes from a one pound bag, I mix the finer stuff that is left into the next pound bag. I basically *fold* it into the top 1/3 of the new package so it doesn’t all just sift back down again. The *shake* I have left is not dust and does still contain some shreds. After injecting a pack, I make sure to press all the air out of the bag of tobacco before resealing it. That way, it doesn’t dry out as much or so quickly. I do get 3 cartons/1 pound and have for years. If I smoked shorter cigarettes, I am sure it would be 3+ cartons/pound.
Good Idea.
You will get 2 cartons per 14 oz D&R bag http://ryorevolution.com/d_r-tobaccos.html
I haven’t tried the new cut. The manufacturer assures me it still works fine in injection machines.
I stocked up before the tax too.
No Bootlegger Left Behind Act.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.