Democrats talk about increasing the taxes of those who can afford it, and coddle the working class whenever they can. Good, great, let’s do it. But then VA’s Democratic Governor Tim Kaine decided to raise prices on tobacco products. Most typical smokers are average-to-poor working people who smoke to alleviate the stress of long days and low wages.
Here’s how much my cigarettes went up:
Tax the poor! Tax the workers!
And here’s how much my salary went up:
23 March, 2009: $0, searching for a job
31 March, 2009: $0, searching for my kicking-Tim-Kaine-in-the-nuts boots
Fuck you, Tim Kaine. Fuck you.
This type of bullshit is why I will never call myself a Democrat.
And this type of whining is why I will never understand smokers.
Now that your sticks of burning garbage are so expensive — in addition to being addictive, bad for your health, and repulsively smelly — have you given any thought to, y’know, quitting?
Comment by The Vicar — 2 April 2009 @ 2:27 am
The Dicker,
Of course I’ve thought about quitting.
You’re forgetting that I have Tourette’s Syndrome and nicotine is cheaper than (and almost as effective as) the medicines usually prescribed to help stifle twitching and outbursts in Tourette’s sufferers.
So do I want a twitch-free, grunt-free existence, ending at 65 with cancer, or do I want a miserable existence living as a man trapped in a spastic body, ending at 85 after 20 years of Alheimer’s Disease (which I have family history of from both parents families)? The former sounds better.
So that’s the thought I gave to quitting.
Comment by Rev. Reed Braden — 2 April 2009 @ 4:30 am
Have you investigated nicotine patches? Generic one-a-day 21mg patches are cheaper — according to Google and the figures in your post — than a pack a day of cigarettes by a factor of something like 4. Plus they don’t make you stink or gum up your lungs.
Comment by The Vicar — 2 April 2009 @ 12:24 pm
I have thought about it. Is there a reason you’re trolling to get me to change my habits? Are you a missionary from the Church of Douchebag?
Comment by Rev. Reed Braden — 2 April 2009 @ 12:31 pm
Hmmm? No, I just saw your post via Planet Atheism, and since you were taking the (false) position that cigarettes are a necessity, as opposed to a luxury item, I felt moved to argue with you. (And the fact that I’m not a regular reader is why I didn’t know about the Tourette’s Syndrome, by the way.) If I didn’t care about truth, I wouldn’t bother being an atheist.
Comment by The Vicar — 2 April 2009 @ 7:12 pm
Illiterate troll is illiterate. I never said that cigarettes were a necessity. You’re putting words in my mouth. My point was that of all the products the state could increase taxes on, they chose a product used mostly by middle class and poor people. Why not increase taxes on steaks, champagne, silk, crystal knick-knacks, caviar or mineral water? Why not tax products bought by rich people instead? Cigarette taxes tax the poor.
You’re not arguing because you’re right, you’re arguing because you’re bored.
Comment by Rev. Reed Braden — 2 April 2009 @ 8:07 pm
If you can afford $14 to $28 per week for something which is totally unnecessary (except, let’s say, in the tiny minority of people with Tourette’s) then you aren’t really poor. And if you can just as easily not smoke, then your whole argument collapses.
As for increasing taxes on other items: enforcing those other taxes would in most cases cost much more than they would collect. Suppose they increase the tax on caviar — most rich people will simply start buying caviar out of state, and the few who don’t not enough to pay the salaries of the extra people needed to enforce the rule. There just aren’t that many caviar eaters.
Whereas with cigarettes, although there will be a lot of people going out of state for cheaper cigarettes if they are available, there are so many people paying the tax that it doesn’t matter in terms of revenue.
As for taxing steak or champagne or other luxury items which are more common: it’s been tried, and the net effect is to move steak further into the luxury class, which in turn causes fewer people to eat steak.
Basically, what we need is for the American people to wise up, admit that if we’re going to tax the rich we should do it directly, and do that, rather than playing these games. The Democrats used to do that, decades ago, but they got tired of not being able to fundraise easily and gave up.
Comment by The Vicar — 2 April 2009 @ 10:51 pm
So you’re saying that we shouldn’t tax luxury products except for cigarettes but we shouldn’t tax products at all and just tax the rich directly? Just like the real Vicar, I have no clue what the fuck you’re on about.
Comment by Rev. Reed Braden — 3 April 2009 @ 1:11 am
Dude, why don’t you just kill yourself.
Comment by Chuck — 24 April 2009 @ 1:29 pm
When the feebleness of your side’s arguments is exposed, this is all that’s left. Charming.
Comment by Rev. J. Reed Braden — 24 April 2009 @ 1:58 pm
If cigarettes demonstrably help alleviate this disease, maybe we should lobby for exceptions from the law for those who suffer from it.
Comment by mikespeir — 2 April 2009 @ 9:11 am
Or we could tax the rich, like we were promised would happen, instead of taxing the working class.
Comment by Rev. Reed Braden — 2 April 2009 @ 11:59 am
The cigarette taxes went up all across the country, not just in Virginia. How did you think they were going to finance the stimulus package?
Comment by Ian — 2 April 2009 @ 11:22 am
Yes, but the taxes were decided upon by each state’s legislature and signed by the governor. Plus, this is something Kaine has long wanted. Tax the rich, not the workers.
Comment by Rev. Reed Braden — 2 April 2009 @ 12:00 pm
Eww, menthol. Go smoke real fags… err cigarettes. ;)
Comment by Danny — 2 April 2009 @ 6:46 pm
BTW, here in the Philippines a pack of Marlboro cigs (20 sticks) goes for about PHP 35 (about 73 cents in US money). We’re dirt poor but at least the gov’t ain’t taking cancer sticks from us.
(Personally, I prefer Luckies or Winston myself.)
Comment by Danny — 2 April 2009 @ 10:20 pm
You can always smoke the preferred brand of Evangelical Christian Republicans everywhere … crystal meth.
In the words of smoker, atheist, and philosopher Bill Hicks, “Non-smokers die everyday.”
My preferred drug is absinthe quaffed from the shellacked skull of Jerry Falwell.
Comment by kswolff — 2 April 2009 @ 11:30 pm
we already tax the rich! jesus! You think just because we can live without it that you deserve it? No, you can go earn your own money. Rich people do pay more in taxes, because they pay a crapload moar! if you tax everybody 50%, the rich people pay a ton moar money, which is how it should be. If you tax only the rich 50% and the poor 10%, you just stole 40% of the only responsible educated and non society-sucking individuals hard earned cash..
Comment by (Name removed for obscene content) — 20 April 2009 @ 9:21 pm
For someone with a racist and sexually explicit handle and terrible spelling and grammar, I’m surprised that you’re sticking up for the “educated” people. And are all poor and middle-class people irresponsible and uneducated? Is that how you think it works? You’re a Ron Paul fan, aren’t you?
Comment by Rev. Reed Braden — 20 April 2009 @ 11:43 pm
damn straight I’m a Ron Paul fan! In America, you earn what you work for, you don’t get other peoples money because you just deserve it because the government says so. Let me guess, you’re a Mao fan aren’t you?
Comment by (Name removed for obscene content) — 20 April 2009 @ 11:56 pm
You’re a dumbass. Your chosen handle is now on my comment blacklist. I will not accept racism or classism on my blog.
Comment by Rev. Reed Braden — 21 April 2009 @ 12:09 am
I smoke and am feeling the increase. I also served in two wars for this country and now am struggling to pay my bills as the VA goes over my paperwork again and again and again only to loose my file twice and produce exactly shit. Anyone who’s joining the military and want’s to go to college better become an expert at legal paperwork bullshit and red tape if they wan’t the GIBill dumb fuck recruiters promise them. I’ve been out the army 6yrs and have invested way to much time into getting trying to get VA money when I should of been looking for a job instead. Don’t rely on Uncle Sam to take care of you. Basically go fuck yourself VA. Suck the shit out of my cock and lick my balls. Stimulate the economy by living up to your end of the deal you stupid ignorant fucks. Go fuck yourselves…..
Comment by Anonymous — 22 October 2009 @ 9:11 pm
word.
Comment by Anonymous — 4 November 2009 @ 4:39 pm
FUCK THE V.A. IS RIGHT. AT LEAST AT U.S. EMBASSY MANILA, THE DIRECTOR AND MANAGER OF V.A. R.O. EMBASSY ARE FUCKING IDIOTS, LIARS, AND THEY ARE CRIMINAL IN THEIR TREATMENT OF DISABLED VETERANS. FUCKING EMBASSY V.A. HAS FABRICATED REPORTS, LIED, FALASIFIED DOCUMENTS, LETTERS AGAINST ME. THIS IS WORSE BECAUSE I ASKED FOR HELP OF SEC. V.A. WASH. D.C. AND THEY DONT EVEN CARE. FUCK THE V.A. IS RIGHT
Comment by KENNETH W. LITTRELL — 25 November 2009 @ 5:45 am