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SALTER: Barbour wrong on cigarette tax, but Legislature still 'addicted' 

Gov. Haley Barbour's die-in-the-ditch opposition to a cigarette tax increase as part of an overall Medicaid funding solution is one that is irrational both from public policy and political standpoints.

Barbour's unwavering protection of Big Tobacco from fair taxation in Mississippi throughout his tenure as governor – and the decision of Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant and other Republicans in the Legislature to stand dutifully by and let him do it – will likely cost the GOP at the ballot box in the future.

But that said, House Democrats hung their hats on two pegs in the ongoing Medicaid fight and neither of them are currently viable options to fund Medicaid in either the short or long term. . . .

The criticism Barbour is receiving for protecting the tobacco industry from higher taxes is justified criticism of his own making. But until the Legislature can kick their “one-time money” addiction for Medicaid funding, Barbour still holds the fiscal high ground on this issue – even while continuing to shield Big Tobacco.

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