Jump to full article: NewsMax, 2009-06-12
Author: Lowell Ponte
Intro: President Barack Obama expects to receive and sign quickly into law today legislation imposing federal regulation on cigarettes, cigars, and other tobacco products.
This odd measure is a harbinger of the hypocrisy and contradictions we can expect in the socialized medicine legislation Democrats aim to impose this year. . . .
First, let's correct an error in what The Times reported. Nicotine is not "addictive" in the strict scientific sense; it is "severely habituating," the difference being that nicotine requires no ever-increasing dose as addictive substances do. . . .
Cigarette levies "are one of the most regressive taxes . . . probably the most regressive of the federal taxes," says Jane Gravelle, senior specialist in economic policy at the Congressional Research Service.
So the Democratic president and ruling lawmakers who promised no new taxes on Americans earning less than $250,000 a year once again are socking it to poor voters fooled by Democratic smoke and mirrors. . . .
Democratic politicians apparently are hooked themselves on nicotine taxes and more than willing to sacrifice the lives and health of their own poor constituents to squeeze more money out of them.
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