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Originally Posted by Iowa_Flames_Fan
You're really reaching here. Taxing tobacco as a tax on the poor? Laugh.
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It is in fact more of a tax on the lower class than anything else.
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Persons of higher status are less likely to smoke, more likely to exercise regularly and be more conscious of their diet.
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From here, if you have access to it.
http://jech.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/57/6/440
Obama said this....just in case you missed it....
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He repeatedly vowed "you will not see any of your taxes increase one single dime."
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....which was a blatant lie, considering....
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Government and private research has found that smoking rates are higher among people of low income.
A Gallup survey of 75,000 people last year fleshed out that conclusion. It found that 34 percent of respondents earning $6,000 to $12,000 were smokers, and the smoking rate consistently declined among people of higher income. Only 13 percent of people earning $90,000 or more were smokers.
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http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/oba...01/198442.html
So please, explain to me how this doesn't hit the lower class?
34% of the people who smoke are considered lower class, and make anywhere between $8,000-$20,000 in one year.
The tax on rolling tobacco increased from $1.09 to $24.78, an increase of about 2,200 percent.
Again, tell me how that isn't going to effect the lower class.
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They could always... you know, not smoke?
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And obese people could just quitting eating unhealthy foods, which is a hell of a lot easier to do than quitting smoking. Or drug addicts could just quit doing drugs, or terrorists could just quit killing people......
Obama lied, and outright broke one of his campaign promises, and secondly....the government shouldn't be forcing people to make lifestyle choices by increasing the price of certain items.
What's next? Taxing fast food like crazy?
Then again, you're big government, so you probably think taxing what the government deems to be unhealthy is good. That would be a problem though, because the standard for 'healthy' has changed numerous times the past 60 years.