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Vilsack pushes the cigarette tax again after a death of a close friend over the weekend.
Gov. Tom Vilsack, visibly shaken from the loss of his friend and former-chief of staff over the weekend from an apparent suicide, called this morning for support of his proposal to increase the tax on cigarettes in hopes of preventing others from beginning a life of addiction.I am in total agreement with the cigarete tax and this pretty much sums up my feelings.
“Bottom line, it's about saving lives. Sometimes we have a tendency to forget that in this debate. I think, for me any way, that's been utmost in my mind and this weekend underscored it,” Vilsack said.Of course Christopher Rants, basically an employee of the tobacco industry, is against the tax because it will hurt business. Well, Chris, if people die, businesses have a smaller customer base.
3 comments:
So, if you smoke cigarettes you're going to eventually develope a nasty drug/alcohol addiction that you cannot kick and commit suicide? Far reach and DISGUSTING of Vilsack to use his friends tragic death to push his political agenda.
If Vilsack truly cared about Gleason he would have staged an intervention and paid to get him into a long term treatment program, not fired him from his job and then thrown him to the meida wolves.
I think there should be a raise in the cigarette tax and the monies should be used for tobacco cessation programs and healthcare for users and former users. Doing anything else with the money is funding all Iowans on the backs of a few.
I agree that the link between the death of his friend and smoking is slim. However, I agree that the tax hike is badly needed. The Daily Iowan reported that only 8 states have lower cigarette taxes than Iowa.
Tackiness about lumping Gleason's sucide together with the cigarette tax aside, I agree that they tax is an issue that should be debated this year. I'm not sure yet where I come down on the cigarette tax, considering it is about as regressive a tax as you can find. I'm also not sure how I feel about anti-smoking laws in general, but that may just be the libertarian in me talking.
All said, however, it's an issue that should be discussed and not swept inder Speaker Rants' rug.
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