Tobacco.org

• MULSHINE: Taxing stupidity is a smart move 

This newspaper reported the other day that a corporate- funded group called Citizens for a Sound Economy is running ads against the McGreevey administration's plan to raise taxes on cigarettes.

Many conservatives oppose this tax hike. Not me. I think the cigarette tax is the very best kind of tax -- the kind that doesn't affect me. Since I am not stupid, I don't smoke. Therefore I don't have to pay this tax. The tax burden is picked up by other people, those more inclined to indulge in unintelligent behavior. . . Smokers may not be stupid, but their behavior is. And what could be better than a tax that targets stupid behavior? If the person affected by the tax prefers to start acting intelligently, then he pays not a cent. On the other hand, if he wishes to keep acting stupidly, the tax burden is reduced proportionately for the rest of us.

The very name of the group pushing the ad campaign, Citizens for a Sound Economy, shows how transparently bogus its claims are. The implication is that New Jersey's economy would become unsound if smoking rates dropped. Actually, we already have one of the lowest rates of cigarette use in the nation. We also have the highest household income. So any link seems tenuous.

The state that would suffer if New Jerseyans stopped smoking is North Carolina, which produces the tobacco . .

Yet many Republicans in the Legislature are opposing this tax hike. Some echo the claim in those ads. They say they oppose the tax hike not because of their concern for the rich tobacco companies that give them campaign contributions but for the poor, hard-working smokers who don't. Some can even say this without laughing. That's the mark of a real pro.

Even if that concern were real, however, it is nonsensical. The poor and working class are already largely exempted from the income tax, both state and federal. The theory is that they need all of their income to pay for necessities such as food and shelter. These necessities are not taxed, which is good public policy. But if instead of buying necessities, these people prefer to buy cigarettes, the intelligent thing to do is to tax the hell out of them. The more they pay, the less will have to be paid by traditional Republican constituencies such as rich people and business owners.

Jump to full article »