Keith Olbermann talks
about measure 50 that failed to pass in Oregon this week, which would
have raised cigarette taxes from $1.18 to $2.03, and provide healthcare
for 100,000 children of low-income families. Measure 50, proposing an 84.5 cent tax
increase per pack, was rejected by 60 percent of the state’s voters.
The states need to stop trying to pass these
increases in cigarette taxes to attempt to pay for children's
healthcare. We need a nationwide answer to the health care problem
in this country, not extra taxes tacked onto liquor or cigarettes.
The citizens of America are unhappy with the health care system, and a
measure in Oregon that will save some children is not going to change
that.
We need a new solution, in my humble
opinion.
Here is the video clip of the Countdown with
Keith Olbermann from last night's show, where Michael Moore appears to
discuss the health care problems in America with Olbermann.
I usually agree with both of these guys, but
in this case, not at all. I'm not involved in the material
production of cigarettes, Keith, but I don't think that the money for
our health care system should be saddled on the backs of those who
choose to smoke, no more than there should be a taxable admission fee
for entering a bar that will go towards liver transplants.
The smoking population is going down, and as
long as the taxes on cigarettes go up, and smoking bans continue to
pass, the smoking population in America will continue to decline.
Therefore, it is a temporary solution, a Band-Aid, that will eventually
fester. Did I say fester? Ew.
I still love both Keith Olbermann and Michael
Moore, though. Moore made me laugh with this one: "I guess
the Republicans have kind of figured out that, uh - their days are up,
and uh, they might as well go out smoking, or something."
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