Smoking Them Out?
While left-wing editorial boards at La Socialista (a.k.a. The State newspaper) and La Liberbad (a.ka. The Greenville News) whined incessantly over the weekend about the need for a cigarette tax hike in South Carolina, pressure could be mounting on lawmakers to refrain from dumping more money into our state’s splintered, unsustainable health care system.
FITS has obtained a draft copy of an anti-tax hike mail piece that will reportedly be sent out to voters in multiple State Senate districts.
Our sources declined to identify who was behind the mailing (or when it would be sent), although speculation is that it is being funded by a new taxpayers’ group. A companion mailing to House members could also be in the works, we’re told.
The mailing challenges voters to put their State Senator’s voting record “under the microscope,” and in the process claims that multiple S.C. House members have already broken their pledge not to raise taxes.
“Despite signing a pledge NOT to raise your taxes, these lawmakers want to take millions of dollars out of our economy and put (them) into Obama’s health care slush fund,” the mailing reads.
That’s pretty potent stuff in GOP districts.
Indeed, last week a key Senate committee decided to move the propose tax hike revenue into a “trust fund” that lawmakers would decide later how to spend.
No matter where they put it, though, it won’t make a dent in soaring Medicaid costs.
Originally, Medicaid funding comprised between 6-7% of state budgets. Today, that amount has more than quadrupled – with annual percentage increases approaching double digits.
Making matters worse in South Carolina is our fractured health care delivery system, which includes no fewer than eight health-related agencies.
So which Senators would be targeted with the mailing?
“All the R’s and a few D’s,” we’re told.
WEB EXTRA
Comments
By Start making sense on May 11th, 2009 at 11:34 am
Tobacco is an addictive poison. The cheaper it is , the more people use it.
In the short run, increasing the tax is the best way to curb use .
I don’t care if you are an R or a D or an I or a Q – raise the dam tax and help keep people from getting sick and dying.
What to do with our money collected on the higher tax?
Use our money collected to reduce our very high state income tax rates.
Come on gang, this issue is too dam simple not to fix.
By Palmetto_Native on May 11th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
There is no such thing as a “new” tax group. It is merely a new front for someone’s political agenda. Probably the old group is too closely connected with whomever…so they start a “new” group to try and imply growing support for their cause.
By Liberty For Me on May 11th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Help support Tobbacco Farmers…Let them grow marijuanna and Tax that..DUH!! Stop Spending billions to stop something that will make us money…and abolish the income tax
By randee on May 11th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Why not increase the alcohol tax while we’re at it? After all, most of the major brews are owned by EUROPEAN companies. (unlike tobacco, which is a SOUTHERN commodity)
By marvin on May 11th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
Sigh. I know I am fighting a losing battle on this one, but I still have to say it:
1. Bad idea to raise taxes to change behavior. Period. Make cigarettes illegal before you do that. Seriously. Where does it stop?
2. Giving government more revenue only creates more programs that have to be funded EVEN when that revenue source dries up. We’ll all pay for this one soon enough.
3. Raising taxes has a broad economic impact that goes beyond smokers. SC Policy Council estimates around 4,000 jobs lost. Dispute the numbers all you want (but if you are going to, then economic to do it, not rhetoric), but there is no question small retail businesses will suffer at a time when too many people are losing their jobs.
4. We have no idea where most of the money we already spend goes, but what we can see looks like a lot of waste. Why in the world would we give them any more revenue at at time like this, especially when they now say they won’t even tell us where it will go?
We need to stop raising revenue and start cutting spending. That simple. The economy just can’t take another increase that hurts any taxpayers, even smokers.
By Dying or taxing? on May 12th, 2009 at 7:41 am
Marvin,
Exactly who is going to lose their job if people quit smoking?
Is it the people who are operating the cancer units?
I agree we should stop spending but no politician one wants to do that.
Stop spending or stop killing innocent kids who are starting to smoke?
I can answer that one very easily.
By Ron on May 12th, 2009 at 11:00 am
Proposed Cigarette Tax Increase to Cost SC 4,100 Private-Sector Jobs
Written by SC Policy Council
Thursday, 07 May 2009 09:23
Legislation under consideration by the South Carolina Senate would raise the cigarette tax by 700 percent and cost the state more than 4,100 jobs, according to a dynamic analysis conducted by economists at the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University. The tax increase is expected to particularly hurt low-income workers employed in the retail sector of South Carolina’s economy.
If approved by the Senate, House Bill 3584 would increase the state tax on cigarettes from 7 cents to 57 cents per pack. The bill has already passed the House and would establish a new health care program that would extend taxpayer-subsidized health insurance to families earning up to 200 percent of federal poverty level (FPL). That equates to $44,100 for a family of four in a state with a median household income of $43,508 (as of 2007). In addition, the legislation would extend state-subsidized insurance to high-risk insurance pool participants who earn up to 400 percent of FPL – $88,200 for a family of four. Ironically, only $5 million of the $147 million in revenue expected from the bill would go to smoking prevention and cessation efforts.
By Ron on May 12th, 2009 at 11:02 am
Lawmakers, the bottom line here is do you want bigger and more intrusive government in SC. Then vote for this 700% tax increase!! Will, we’re “smokin out” the RINOs. LOL