Tax Hikes Hurt Republicans--Just Ask Utah Governor Gary Herbert

when the pass tobacco taxes. They have reached the point of diminishing returns. John Q. Public will always find a way to obtain a consumer product at a price they are wiling to pay.Think Prohibition.

IF the states want to see more revenue they need to be more pragmatic. The question to ask is will we as a nation ever ban the sale and use of tobacco? If the answer is no, them logic should tell lawmakers to tax the product at a rate the consumer is willing to pay. Bring their dollars back to the state for the benefit of the state.

To all the fools still waiting for their health care cost or insurance cost to go down as smoking declines. After 23 to 30 years of anti tobacco, we should now realize those are lies, it is not going to happen, so reduce the taxes and use the revenue for education, public safety, health care and education.

Jan of OR 7:33PM April 11, 2010

Mr. Roff quotes Salt Lake Tribune Columnist Paul Rolly:

"He and his fellow 912ers see no difference between the tobacco tax and proposals in other states to tax bullets, soft drinks, and junk food. The opposition to all of that fits right in with the 'give-us-liberty' Patrick Henry movement that Republicans have so far adopted as their own."

The implication being that Tea Party advocates are too dense to make what whould seem to everyone to be an obvious distinction.

Mr. Rolly needs to be reminded that principles are just as likely to disregard distictions as to acknowledge them. The distinction between cigarettes and soft drinks may be relevant to him but it is not to the Tea Party movement and Mr. Rolly has not explained why his particular distinction is meaninful.

Mr. Rolly seems to believe that the difference between tobacco and soft drinks is more relevant to the discussion than the principle that majority gets to tax the minority as they see fit. Let's apply this reasoning to a different context. Suppose Congress passed a law abolishing the use of four letter words in print and the tea party movement objected on free-speech grounds. Would Mr. Rolly be writing that the tea party movement is a bunch of illeterates incapable of understanding the difference between vulgarity and eloquence? I doubt it given his profession. It is clear from the quote that Mr. Rolly does not agree with the tea party movement or the principles behind it but spare us the condescending comments.

George Pappas of PA 8:25AM April 07, 2010

These new smokeless Electronic Cigarettes are awesome! I can smoke in my girlfriend’s car and it doesn’t bother her at all. Take a look at this: http://sites.google.com/site/smokestikelectriccigarette/

david scott of CA 9:51PM April 06, 2010

You lost all credibility when you wrote the Obama Recession -

How is this Obama's recession when it officially started in late 2007, Mr Roff?

That's a sleezy shot buddy. Wasn't you're buddy Bush in office when the recession started? Opps!

Wasn't it your buddy Bush who bailed out the banks? Opps!

Don't blame Obama because he was forced to issue the stimulus, remember your buddy Bush issued TWO stimuli during his terms.

Your damning the doctor for treating a hit-and-run patient. Shouldn't you damn the driver that caused the accident?

What school taught you this thought process? I want to keep my children far away.

LaVerne of WA 7:16PM April 06, 2010