Liar, liar, pants on fire! Nose is longer than a telephone wire!

Obama said that he would not raise taxes on those making under $200,000 individually, or $250,000 as a couple.

And yet the federal tax on cigarettes was raised $0.62 a pack. Now I realize that smoking is bad for people and that many are out there saying "So what?!" they should quit anyway. Let's just try to look a LITTLE bit deeper than the shiny surface, shall we?

First off, most people who smoke make less than $200,000. In fact, those who comprise the LOWEST 1/5 of American incomes purchase the most cigarettes. So maybe they should spend their money elsewhere. Fine, but that's not the point. Obama PROMISED not to tax the lower income workers. And he just did.

Secondly, there are far more long reaching effects of what's just happened. Liquor stores (yes, another evil, but FOCUS! you need to FOCUS on long term effect!) make a deal deal of their profits from the sale of cigarettes. Mike Szczeblewski owns a liquor store where a full 50% of his business comes from the sale of cigarettes. He says that he's concerned for his loss of business. It's not just the cigarettes, it's the loose tobacco which MORE THAN DOUBLED in price due to taxes. He's looking at LAYING OFF EMPLOYEES and possibly GOING OUT BUSINESS himself.

Okay, so some of you don't have a problem with this. Smoking is an unhealthy, filthy, disgusting habit. Some of you feel the same way about alcohol, which is already taxed and is about to be taxed more.

Let's roll with this. We'll just tax the hell out of "sinful" pleasures, force everyone to quit and businesses to go under. But it won't just be the liquor stores that will cut back. Look at all the grocers who make a good deal of money off of tobacco and alcohol. They'll have to cut back as well...or raise prices. Then we have the tobacco farmers. That's a HUGE issue in the state of Kentucky where it is the states largest export. What about the THOUSANDS of people who will be laid off by the various industries involved in tobacco and alcohol from growing to consumption? What about restaurants and their servers who live off of tips and make the most off of alcohol? Didn't think about that?

Don't feel bad, obama doesn't think beyond the end of his nose either. But let's go further, eh?

Aside from the HIGHER UNEMPLOYMENT RATE and the federal costs in UNEMPLOYMENT, WELFARE AND HEALTH CARE for these people who have lost their incomes, uhhhhhhhh, just what exactly do you think the feds will tax next to make up for the loss in taxes from the sale of tobacco and alcohol? I mean, you really think that the government will just say, "Hey! We don't have these things to tax anymore, so we'll just cut back our spending, stream line our government programs. We'll learn to live on a smaller budget like the people who we forced out of their lively hood."

Not likely.

They'll just start taxing items EVERYONE uses to continue to pay for their ever growing social programs. The federal government is looking to make $33 BILLION in taxes to cover the child medical care expansion through the taxing of tobacco. But when that well runs dry... $33 BILLION is a lot of damned money! My guess is evil gas. I bet most people out there have to do things that require gas. Like drive to work. Hmmmmm... An increase in gas tax causes an increase in the cost of EVERYTHING we consume...for instance FOOD.

Straight and simple, IT IS A SIN in and of itself for the government to make more money off of a product than the people who actual produce is. The government tries to villianize people involved in the tobacco industry and the oil industry. But the FACTS, which obamaheads aren't truly interested in, is that the government makes more of each gallon of gas and each package of cigarettes THAN ANYONE ELSE. The government believes that YOUR money belongs to THEM!

It may be tobacco products now. It may be alcohol products soon. But don't fool yourself. Something YOU use is next.

Peace Out,

~*~*~Krystal~*~*~