Obama wants to raise cig tax

[Oldgamer]

I think we can narrow it down a little bit.

Anything that is a public health threat that costs hundreds of billions of dollars a year.
Anything that is done for pleasure but at a cost to society.

I agree, if you think about it, there are major health issues that cost everyone from smoking cigarettes, to doing drugs, to all other types of things that in the end cost the public and causes health issues to society.

But then that goes back to those who eat too much in the way of sweets, or high fat foods. But then you have the problem of sugars and corn syrups being subsidized and made so cheaply in products that the poor tend to buy the least expensive most unhealthy items that cause health issues in the long run. So to put a heavy tax on the things that only the poor can afford would be cruel.

Then we need to look at taking away the subsidies to the corn industry, and the processed food companies who spew out unhealthy cheap food, and give subsidies to produce farms, and healthy meat producers for non processed meat, with less anti-biotics..

So much to tackle..it gives me a headache just thinking about it all.

 

[Incorruptible]

Smokers pay a lot in taxes and pay more than their fair share compared to non-smokers. Smokers also tend to live shorter lives compared to non-smokers so they cost the healthcare system less.

obama has no right to tax cigarettes like this. Hopefully smokers just send a big fuck you to obama and stop buying cigarettes and go underground. Then watch the moron complain about losing revenue.

 

[Anarchist420]

Smokers pay a lot in taxes and pay more than their fair share compared to non-smokers. Smokers also tend to live shorter lives compared to non-smokers so they cost the healthcare system less. obama has no right to tax cigarettes like this. Hopefully smokers just send a big fuck you to obama and stop buying cigarettes and go underground. Then watch the moron complain about losing revenue.

I couldn't have said that better.🙂

 

[Mixolydian]

Let's start raising other taxes - like alcohol. What good does it do to put all your eggs in one basket? Cigarette taxes are already ridiculous here in Chicago.

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

Smokers pay a lot in taxes and pay more than their fair share compared to non-smokers. Smokers also tend to live shorter lives compared to non-smokers so they cost the healthcare system less.

obama has no right to tax cigarettes like this. Hopefully smokers just send a big fuck you to obama and stop buying cigarettes and go underground. Then watch the moron complain about losing revenue.

What is their fair share? See my previous posts in this thread.
Smokers only paid $7 billion in taxes last year.
Smokers cost our system over $190 billion in healthcare costs and other direct and indirect costs.

You think $7 billion in taxes to cover a $190 billion liability is your fair share? Interesting.

 

[Incorruptible]

What is their fair share? See my previous posts in this thread.
Smokers only paid $7 billion in taxes last year.
Smokers cost our system over $190 billion in healthcare costs and other direct and indirect costs.

You think $7 billion in taxes to cover a $190 billion liability is your fair share? Interesting.

You know there is a simple solution to all of this but too many idiots on here will attack me.

Any links on you claims and how much of the $190 billion is directly related to smoking?

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

You know there is a simple solution to all of this but too many idiots on here will attack me.

Any links on you claims and how much of the $190 billion is directly related to smoking?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/08/how-much-does-smoking-cos_n_184554.html

$96 billion in direct healthcare costs, $97 billion in lost productivity.

 

[Incorruptible]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/08/how-much-does-smoking-cos_n_184554.html

$96 billion in direct healthcare costs, $97 billion in lost productivity.

I am not sure but those numbers could be inflated up.

And one part of the article I found interesting was this

Vanderbilt University economist Kip Viscusi studied the net costs of smoking-related spending and savings and found that for every pack of cigarettes smoked, the country reaps a net cost savings of 32 cents.

Smokers do live shorter lives and this puts less costs onto healthcare especially since many times older people require more healthcare which costs more.

 

[Pr0d1gy]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/08/how-much-does-smoking-cos_n_184554.html

$96 billion in direct healthcare costs, $97 billion in lost productivity.

There is that trigger again, productivity. hehe

 

[OverVolt]

Lets tax anything that I am not!

Hooray!

Smoking is way over-villified these days. Its bad for you, we get it. Just about everyone has quit. Its played out now. This is just typical liberal raising taxes bullshit.

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

I am not sure but those numbers could be inflated up.

And one part of the article I found interesting was this



Smokers do live shorter lives and this puts less costs onto healthcare especially since many times older people require more healthcare which costs more.

Well, I am going to trust the source for those numbers and not you.

That is interesting. The solution: stop providing such expensive healthcare for the last ten years of someones life. When you hit 70 you should not be treated for cancer, be given hip replacement, or anything else on the public dollar.

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

Lets tax anything that is not beneficial to society and costs $100 billion per year to support!

Hooray!

Smoking is way over-villified these days. Its bad for you, we get it. Just about everyone has quit. Its played out now. This is just typical liberal raising taxes bullshit.

ftfy

No, not everyone has quit. 20% of Americans smoke. That is hardly a minority.

I don't agree with raising taxes in general; I wish we could balance our budget. HEY! We spend $100 BILLION a year on smokers (who are mostly lower income so get Medicaid.)

I just wrote a $45K check for taxes to the IRS (bringing my total to over $120K for 2012) and ANOTHER $30K check for quarterly taxes. Let's tax people that cost us money and make a choice to do so.

 

[etrigan420]

ftfy

No, not everyone has quit. 20% of Americans smoke. That is hardly a minority.

I don't agree with raising taxes in general; I wish we could balance our budget. HEY! We spend $100 BILLION a year on smokers (who are mostly lower income so get Medicaid.)

I just wrote a $45K check for taxes to the IRS (bringing my total to over $120K for 2012) and ANOTHER $30K check for quarterly taxes. Let's tax people that cost us money and make a choice to do so.

You gotta admit though, OverVolt insinuated that you are a "liberal"...and that shit's funny! 😀

(I have no problem with "through the roof" taxing of alcohol and tobacco.)

 

[OverVolt]

Like the other guy was saying, they cost more in healthcare but don't draw on govt. retirement as much. That cost $100 billion support stuff is sensationalist.

 

[OverVolt]

Liberals everywhere sahfuaekreg

 

[Incorruptible]

Well, I am going to trust the source for those numbers and not you.

That is interesting. The solution: stop providing such expensive healthcare for the last ten years of someones life. When you hit 70 you should not be treated for cancer, be given hip replacement, or anything else on the public dollar.

So then what happens to them? Should we just let them die?

 

[OverVolt]

Thats the problem with things that are "free" you are now at the whim of wherever the money comes from.

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

So then what happens to them? Should we just let them die?

At some point, yes. I work in healthcare and see the waste. 80 year old women getting bone density exams (duh...you are 80...guess what happens to your bones?) 75 year old women getting mammograms...it isn't as if you are going to get treated with chemo and live another 15 healthy years.

For people using the public dollars we need to draw a line and say "These services are off limits to you at this age." That isn't to say that we should treat ailments, provide respite care, save them if they are in a car wreck, or fix a broken bone. What I am saying is we shouldn't be spending so much money on people who are nearing the end of their life. There is a reason that 20% of the people use 80% of the dollars and we need to cut that shit off.

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

You gotta admit though, OverVolt insinuated that you are a "liberal"...and that shit's funny! 😀

(I have no problem with "through the roof" taxing of alcohol and tobacco.)

That is kinda cute. Awww, someone thinks I am liberal. Maybe he isn't aware of my other threads.

 

[Smoblikat]

I don't particularly like Obama but I do like this.

http://money.cnn.com/2013/04/10/news/economy/cigarette-tax/index.html?source=cnn_bin

He wants to nearly double the cigarette tax. Of course, people are up in arms about it.

1) The article states the tax is regressive and will hit poor people especially hard because smokers tend to make less; almost half of the median wage of non-smokers. How can an OPTIONAL tax be regressive?

2) I hear a lot of people screaming about how we need to legalize weed and tax it. We legalized tobacco and when we tax it people get butt-hurt about the taxes. Which is it?

3) Smokers cost nearly $200 billion per year in direct, indirect and productivity costs. I think this is a group that should be heavily taxed AND should be excluded from any federally funded healthcare.

4) Average cost for a pack of cigarettes is about $6. This is not an extraordinary amount. Consider that seeing a 3d movie is twice that amount; a 20 ounce breve, a glass of wine, 2 bottles of Fiji water, and many other things cost more than $6. $6 is not a whole hell of a lot, especially for something that causes so much damage.

5) 20% of Americans smoke. I didn't realize that 1 out of 5 people are that fucking stupid.

Let me reiterate that the tobacco tax is an OPTIONAL tax that need not be paid by anyone.

Tobacco is legalized, and currently taxed. Everyone is fine with that, its the raising of taxes on it that noone likes. Legalize weed and tax it, once they raise taxes on it we will be pissed.

 

[Agent11]

A few years ago you could get a pack of Camels or Marlboro's for $3 in Oregon, now they are over $5 a pack because of state taxes. In Washinton state they are even more expensive.

For a smoker Obama seems rather hypocritical on this issue.

 

[OutHouse]

What is their fair share? See my previous posts in this thread.
Smokers only paid $7 billion in taxes last year.
Smokers cost our system over $190 billion in healthcare costs and other direct and indirect costs.

You think $7 billion in taxes to cover a $190 billion liability is your fair share? Interesting.

What system are you talking about

 

[MagickMan]

I say triple or quadruple all the "sin taxes" (cigs, alcohol, etc.) and add one for junk food, really stick it to the lower class. Won't affect me, but it sure will piss off a whole lot of people. It's sure to be a spectacle to watch.

 

[momeNt]

Can we ban or heavily tax water coolers too? That's a huge waste of productivity. If companies were forced to employ water fetchers it would raise productivity and create a job in the process. I spend easily 20 minutes a day fetching my own water.

Let's say you have an office of people making twice minimum wage, it takes only an office 12 people each losing 20 minutes a day in productivity fetching their own water when the company can actually raise productivity by employing a minimum wage water fetcher and banning their employers from fetching their own water. Mandate that any office over 12 employees must employ a water fetcher and you probably just put America back at #1 in terms of office productivity.

 

[ericlp]

I think the tax should be tripled. Nasty shit, and I'm allergic to them...

If they could find a way to dawn those big diving bell hood things and smoke in a glass bubble without polluting my air in the process I'd be fine with smokers.

Tho I think it's pretty cool he wants to do this being once a smoker himself.