The Brotherhood of the Leaf

Posted By The Cigar Soldier on January 16, 2009

I’ll try to make it real simple so you fat bastids understand what is on the immediate horizon for cigar smokers: It’s called S-CHIP, (State Children’s Health Insurance Program) a health insurance plan for children funded entirely by tobacco taxes.

It’s a 53% tax that those schmucks in government passed twice last year, only to have it vetoed twice by El Presidente on the basis that you simply can’t fund a program that will grow in cost over the years with a tax on a product that is declining in sales, no matter how socially acceptable this idea is.  Big brother and the anti smoking do-gooders want us all to quit smoking, that much we know.  But if they get their way and outlaw tobacco, I mean make us see the light that we’re too fucken stupid to make the right decision and just quit on our own, where is the money going to come from to continue funding this program?  The fallout from the tax increases will include declining sales, employee layoffs, store closings and the potential for rising black market activity. In addition, there will be a severe economic impact on the cigar producing nations of the world, such as Honduras , Nicaragua , and the Dominican Republic .  Be prepared then to have your tax dollars go towards shipping  millions of dollars in aid to these countries to support a failing economy that we will have caused in the first place.  With the Democratic Party in complete control of the Government, this tax is coming. You can bet your last dollar on that.

President-elect Barry Obama’s pick for deputy secretary of Health and Human Services was an anti-tobacco lobbyist as recently as September!  Are you listening to me on this?  We should all be saying WTF?

Bill Corr, who lobbied as executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, appeared to break an Obama transition rule that prevents lobbyists from serving in policy areas they have worked to influence within the past year.  Barry O’bambam’s transition team explained that Corr’s work as a lobbyist didn’t violate the restrictions.  Corr had unsuccessfully pushed Congress to give the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco while he was chief of staff under HHS Secretary Donna Shalala during the Clinton administration.  Can you see the writing on the wall?

Just what is in store for cigar smokers when this draconian bill gets through?

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