Why liberals want you to smoke
July 12, 2007| By Nathaniel Ward
The government could soon be in the business of encouraging smoking, according to a stunning analysis from Heritage’s Center for Data Analysis. And this, ironically enough, is part of a health care bill being promoted by the Left.
Congress would need to sign up 22.4 million new smokers in the next ten years under this proposal, the analysis shows, even as the number of smokers declines. This means that if they’re to hit their targets, Congress could find itself encouraging more and more people—young and old alike—to light up.
Here’s why. Liberals like Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) have tied the expansion of a big-government program to a massive tax hike on cigarettes. They want to expand the federal program subsidizing health care for poor children to cover even children from families the government considers wealthy.
The new tax, however, would encourage smokers to quit. As more people quit, cigarette tax revenue would decline, so Congress would need to sign up still more new smokers. And ironically, this liberal-backed cigarette tax would have the most impact on the low income Americans the bill is intended to help, Heritage’s study finds.
Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation.
