The expansion of the SCHIP program will provide millions of uninsured children with critical health care coverage and carry the added health benefit of encouraging millions of people to give up their deadly smoking habit," said John R. Seffrin, national chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society.
I wonder what ol' Johnny's secret to immortality is...?
Coverage does not equal care.
These morons are patting themselves on the back for expanding a program that very few private offices participate with. The patients will merely add to ER overcrowding, and lengthen the queue at clinics. And we're promised even more to come. But the ones bearing the burden of paying for this brilliant idea are us. I predict it won't stop with a war on smokers. Next up: fast food, then booze, then anything "they" don't like---just look at the proposed "obesity tax" in NY. There's a steamroller coming. I'd say hold on to your wallet, but there's no hope. I do what I can.
Look at it this way, PrezBO is sewing the seeds of another Republican Revolution with this 920 Billion "stimulus" bill. hopefully, this will be his first and last term and we can get a Republican president in office, which will probably cut the spending on this stupid program.
Why is it that the government wants to tax us for the few enjoyable things we have left or can afford when the country's economy is in the dumps, and the overall public is currently under a thunder cloud of gloom. I wish the government stopped trying to top down analyze and get their hands dirty and see how it is to be an average american for moments. Is it just me or doesnt it feel that recently the government seems a little detached fromus as citizens? We are in 2 wars, fighting to sinking econcomy, to pay for increasing prices for gas and food, while getting laid off and constantly reminded by the news of the impending problems of global warming and terrorism. Just let us smoke.
Amen! The suits in washington have long ago forgotten about the common working joe(whom i'm proud to say i'm one of) who earned his Working Man's PHD with lots of sweat, little sleep, long hours and little pay. And what do we get, more tax, more national debt, more programs that dont work and that we dont qualify for. Washington has a serious lack of integrity and sense of responsibility. I work 14-16 hours a day 5-6 days a week and were single military income. That has to put food on the table, roof over or heads, keep the wheels on the road and the gas in the tank and my wife through school. It's tight and my only vice is my "allowance" that, when it allows, i can buy some tasty relaxing smokes and play games with you fine gentlemen. And now that is going to get tighter. I need to stop man i get seriously spun up when i think about all this.
Amen! The suits in washington have long ago forgotten about the common working joe(whom i'm proud to say i'm one of) who earned his Working Man's PHD with lots of sweat, little sleep, long hours and little pay. And what do we get, more tax, more national debt, more programs that dont work and that we dont qualify for. Washington has a serious lack of integrity and sense of responsibility. I work 14-16 hours a day 5-6 days a week and were single military income. That has to put food on the table, roof over or heads, keep the wheels on the road and the gas in the tank and my wife through school. It's tight and my only vice is my "allowance" that, when it allows, i can buy some tasty relaxing smokes and play games with you fine gentlemen. And now that is going to get tighter. I need to stop man i get seriously spun up when i think about all this.
not sure where I heard this, I think it came from some comments from senators or congressmen but they stated that the only people that this bill will hurt will be low income since they are more likely to smoke.. which I find very funny... shows how smart these people are..
See thats what bothers me the most. The Government performs these backwards actions and then complains about why citizens have a lack of respect for big business and politics. The politicians need to learn how to read the streets, and see that when most of us go home now we arent worried about dying from throat and lung cancer; we are worried about keeping our homes, our jobs, and generally the state of our country (which IMHO is hurting). Why try to save us, when in the minds of the common working guy he's already dead. It's funny how the government tries to tax tobacco. In the fact that 1) Tax: our very young country was founded by avoiding such improper taxes on such goods 2) Tobacco: One of our fundamentally American activities being condemned. It's not about life, it's about livelihood
Just a question about this bill passing, if in 4 years Obama is defeated by the Republican challenger, can this tobacco tax be repealed and what are the odds of that happening . Or will it be too difficult to seperate this from the bill as it was passed?
Will never be repealed, because it's the chief financing mechanism for the healthcare program it's attached to. So you'd have to eliminate the program and no future president (not even Sarah Palin) would throw these "poor kids" back into the ranks of the uninsured. In fact, it's quite obvious if you look at recent trends that the taxes will continue to go up, unless of course they choose to outlaw tobacco products entirely. That wouldn't surprise me.
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we should take a dump on the white house lawn ....hows that for the green effect...