Oh of course Barry will

be paying tax on his cigarettes, but the tax certainly will have no economic or social impact on him.  Does he actually purchase his own?  Or does he have 'people' to do that for him? RHIP.

This country has a long and notorious history of trying to prohibit certain bahaviors either by outlawing them, or by taxing them.  As for outright prohibiting or taxing out of existence ANYTHING (tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, hard drugs, prostitution, pornography, owning a gun, owning gold, using incandescent light bulbs, driving an SUV, eating fast fooods, earning more than $250K) we all know how well this concept has worked in the past.  Tell us that 'for our own good' or for an even more nebulous reason 'the good of society'  or even more vague 'for the good of the entire planet' certain behaviors must be stopped and we will certainly find a way around it.  Only the really fearful law-abiding citizen will obey, the rest, people who previously were not criminals, will become criminals to keep from being bossed around.

The only exception that comes right to my mind is segregation.  That actually was a combination of social pressure and legislation.  And it did not happen until the social climate was ready to accept it.  It wasn't without a fight, but it was something the majority of reasonable and right-thinking could understand was the right thing to do.

• Obama Tax Promises Up In Smoke - HomeAlone
  • If they really cared about our health - wouldn't they just make smoking illegal?
    • Obama couldn't do that........ he loves to smoke!!! - MsMT
    • It would just create a huge black market, and - the crime that goes with it. - Topaz
  • I thought that the increased - Trigger Happy
    • My take on it - me
      • I worked for a guy once - Mythbuster
      • Oh of course Barry will - A.Nonymous
    • Fat people will be next. sm - LVMT
      • Not to mention overflowing their airline seats - and taking up half of MINE!
        • Anybody else remember this? - Mythbuster
        • How about we tax the PRODUCTS that make people fat, sm - CDW
          • On the surface - Mythbuster
      • you said it perfectly. After that sm - MT 30+ years and running
        • Maybe they should tax offshore workers doing OUR work. - And the companies that hire them. Topaz
    • This has NOTHING to do with whether you have sympathy for smokers or not. - HomeAlone
      • My dad died of lung ca. from 2nd-hand smoke. I hope - we tax tobacco companied out of existence.
        • My mom died of obesity-related diabetes. I hope we tax food out of - existence.
          • There's a 100% guaranteed secret to - win the fight against obesity -
            • simple exercise or simple mind - dnh
            • If it were oh-so-simple, wouldn't everyone be thin? Come on, it's easy sm - CDW
              • Food addiction. Willpower. - One is evil; the other overcomes it.
                • Yes, SO easy. Which is why the diet industry in this country rakes in billions each year. nm - CDW
                  • Simple answer - Mythbuster
                  • Having a goal helps! My neighbor used to - be fat, and a couch-potato. Then , SM

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be paying tax on his cigarettes, but the tax certainly will have no economic or social impact on him.  Does he actually purchase his own?  Or does he have 'people' to do that for him? RHIP.

This country has a long and notorious history of trying to prohibit certain bahaviors either by outlawing them, or by taxing them.  As for outright prohibiting or taxing out of existence ANYTHING (tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, hard drugs, prostitution, pornography, owning a gun, owning gold, using incandescent light bulbs, driving an SUV, eating fast fooods, earning more than $250K) we all know how well this concept has worked in the past.  Tell us that 'for our own good' or for an even more nebulous reason 'the good of society'  or even more vague 'for the good of the entire planet' certain behaviors must be stopped and we will certainly find a way around it.  Only the really fearful law-abiding citizen will obey, the rest, people who previously were not criminals, will become criminals to keep from being bossed around.

The only exception that comes right to my mind is segregation.  That actually was a combination of social pressure and legislation.  And it did not happen until the social climate was ready to accept it.  It wasn't without a fight, but it was something the majority of reasonable and right-thinking could understand was the right thing to do.