UPDATE: Cigar Tax Bill

[drew_goring]

Sounds like good news.

[cigar no baka]

Well, the Senate has the votes to override a veto. The House is about two dozen votes shy of getting a 2/3 majority, but the Democrats are working hard on 15 Republicans to get them to switch their votes. So we are not out of the woods yet, the idiots in the Legislature could still override the veto.

[koolhandk]

Well, the Senate has the votes to override a veto. The House is about two dozen votes shy of getting a 2/3 majority, but the Democrats are working hard on 15 Republicans to get them to switch their votes. So we are not out of the woods yet, the idiots in the Legislature could still override the veto.

I agree.

[koolhandk]

As stated before, this is probably going to get reworked and put on the table again, and they will still probably use a tobacco tax to fund it. I commend all of you who wrote to your senators to vote against this, but we must remain vigilant and be prepared to do it again when the time comes.

[Shelby07]

I think it's important that we all talk about this bill to those who may not smoke or read these forums. The opposition is already starting the spin that Bush vetoed "the bill" and the media is making it sound as if he cut the funding totally. The important points are that the existing funding has not been cut, it has just not been expanded, and families who do not qualify for medicare but can't afford private health insurance are still covered. Bush vetoed the bill to prevent the expansion of yet another entitlement program and prevent yet another tax increase. It stopped folks who can afford private health insurance from dropping their own and being covered by the government. If passed, this would have allowed a family of 4 making upwards to $80K/year to obtain federal health care benefits paid for by the taxpayers, and "children" upwards to the age of 25 would have been covered by the government.

We need to talk this up in a way that non-smokers can understand.

[koolhandk]

I think it's important that we all talk about this bill to those who may not smoke or read these forums. The opposition is already starting the spin that Bush vetoed "the bill" and the media is making it sound as if he cut the funding totally. The important points are that the existing funding has not been cut, it has just not been expanded, and families who do not qualify for medicare but can't afford private health insurance are still covered. Bush vetoed the bill to prevent the expansion of yet another entitlement program and prevent yet another tax increase. It stopped folks who can afford private health insurance from dropping their own and being covered by the government. If passed, this would have allowed a family of 4 making upwards to $80K/year to obtain federal health care benefits paid for by the taxpayers, and "children" upwards to the age of 25 would have been covered by the government.

We need to talk this up in a way that non-smokers can understand.

Well stated Shelby07.

[Shelby07]

Here's an interesting article by George Will from Newsweek

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21047607...sweek/page/0//

It's pretty interesting to note that the bill would have required 22,000,000 new smokers to keep it funded. And his point that care for the middle class would be put mostly on the shoulders of lower income families is revealing, too.

[cigar no baka]

I think it's important that we all talk about this bill to those who may not smoke or read these forums. The opposition is already starting the spin that Bush vetoed "the bill" and the media is making it sound as if he cut the funding totally. The important points are that the existing funding has not been cut, it has just not been expanded, and families who do not qualify for medicare but can't afford private health insurance are still covered. Bush vetoed the bill to prevent the expansion of yet another entitlement program and prevent yet another tax increase. It stopped folks who can afford private health insurance from dropping their own and being covered by the government. If passed, this would have allowed a family of 4 making upwards to $80K/year to obtain federal health care benefits paid for by the taxpayers, and "children" upwards to the age of 25 would have been covered by the government.

We need to talk this up in a way that non-smokers can understand.

Excellent points Mark, we all need to spread the word that this is another tax boondoggle.

[koolhandk]

The veto override failed today!!! Good news for us...for now.