Oregon's Measure 50

A vote on 2 Measures is coming up in November here in Oregon. One involves a(nother) tax on cigarettes. You could've expected that. Smoking & smokers are fair game currently. It's OK to discriminate against them, and treat them as pariahs. If people of color were treated as smokers are -- there'd be a lawsuit by the ACLU faster than you can say those initials. But, because smokers are indulging in an evil & dirty habit -- they're OK to target. Didn't the AMA classify alcohol and drug addiction as a disease -- a medical condition? Does nicotine addiction fall under that classification? That's one point.

The nasty thing about this particular "sin tax" is that, if Measure 50 passes -- cigarette taxes will be written into the state constitution, specifically. Excuse me? The concept of taxation is written into constitution(s). But to specify, in a State Constitution, items to be taxed. No. That's plain wrong.

Now, the proceeds from this tax are designated to go to provide health insurance for (currently uninsured?) children in this state. Except, only about 30cents of each dollar collected will end up there. The other 70 cents will get eaten up by administrative costs. Hmmmmm -- even if you hate smoking & smokers, now this doesn't seem like much of a benefit. Unless the actual benefit is creating a new department of the government, thus having the State employ more people, therefore giving more people (including their children?) insurance coverage.

Don't forget that State employees are paid by taxes. And, in Oregon, they're Union members.

Now, let's add to the equation the probability that, when the tax goes into effect, some people are going to quit smoking. Some smokers will finally decide: that's it, too expensive. This has happened at each step the anti-smoking lobby has taken to restrict smokers. This has happened each time a taxing body has raised cigarette taxes. The tax base shrinks. So, the proposed income from the tax, supposed to pay for this, this & that -- is not there. Therefore, whatever is supposed to be funded by this tax -- no longer has the projected funds. Hmmm, not an efficient way to fund a whole new governmental department, to say nothing of providing health insurance for children. The projected money won't be there!

Let's review: #1) Write a tax for a specific product into the State Constitution. Dangerous precedent.
#2) Create a new bureaucracy that will use up the majority of the funds realized.
#3) The projected income from this tax will not be realized.

How will the new bureaucracy and the promised children's insurance be funded then?

What would be funny is, if this Measure passes, every smoker in the Oregon quits smoking. Ha, ha, ha! How will the politicos & lobbyists keep their promises then?

I'd like to see that scramble.