Posted on 05/27/2012 2:04:30 PM PDT by QT3.14
No, this isn’t a story about Mark Block. Out in the Land of Lincoln, the state is facing a serious shortfall in their Medicaid funding. (A story which is being repeated across the nation, in case you haven’t been keeping score.) But the Governor has a plan! Fear not, citizens. We’ll raise the money to help people with their medical bills by counting on people smoking more. What could possibly go wrong?
(Excerpt) Read more at hotair.com ...
From 09
“Michigan Lottery sales, taxes on cigarettes and casino gambling plummet; Gov. Jennifer Granholm says revenue decline is ‘breathtaking’”
http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2009/03/michigan_lottery_sales_taxes_o.html
Hey. Let’s get rid of those No Smoking laws that ban smoking in restaurents, bars, work place, etc.
It is none of the state’s business what the people do, including smoking, not smoking, etc....and taxing is just plain robbery, in any case....
Actually, in a country which has universal socialist health care (like Canada) it would make perfect economic sense to encourage smoking. We’re all going to be a drain on the health system when we’re dying, whether it’s of lung cancer at 45 or liver cancer at 85. If we die younger, the health care system saves the money it would have spent on cataract surgery, hip and knee replacements, and a myriad of other diseases of the elderly. And if the person dies at the end of his or her working career, the pension system benefits from a lifetime of paid premiums without having to pay out all the benefits that were earned. If you look at it from the perspective of cold-blooded economics, every socialist country should be passing out the smokes!
Reminds me of vodka tax revenues in Russia:
“Moscow’s Drinking Problem
By MARK LAWRENCE SCHRAD
Published: April 16, 2011, Villanova, Pa.
“IN an effort to reduce both its sky-high alcoholism rate and its budget gap, Russia recently announced plans to quadruple the tax on the country’s eternal vice, vodka, over the next three years.
“But while the move might be well intentioned, the long history of liquor taxation in Russia exposes a critical obstacle in the path of any anti-drinking campaign: the Kremlin’s own addiction to liquor revenues, which has derailed every previous effort to wean Russians from their tipple.”
read the entire article at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/opinion/17Schrad.html
Nah, they aren’t going to promote smoking cigarettes, they’re going to legalize marijuana and then everyone will be smoking joints and just hangin’ out like the Choom Gang.
Since marijuana is as carcinogenic as tobacco, and since tobacco use has fallen off lately, the left will just have to legalize marijuana as a means of population control.
So Illinois is starting to run out of other peoples money, eh?
Actually buried within the law to be signed by Gov. Quinn is implementation of Obamacare two years before it becomes effective nationwide. Illinois will now be the first in the nation to implement Obamacare. And no matter what, the law will remain in effect no matter what the U.S. Supreme Court says.
See: Thread and posts.
GOP House members join GOP Senators in pushing Cook Co. into Obamacare (Illinois)
Illinois Review ^ | May 25, 2012
Posted on Saturday, May 26, 2012 7:10:14 AM by KeyLargo
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2888238/posts
That’s what happens when you build your house on sin. It’s not reliable.
Since they believe that they can mandate buying health insurance why not just mandate buying a carton a week?
So, the Illinois ATF is going to become a retail organization?
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