Funding Healthcare Reform

[FreakinDJ]

Why can't anyone in the Congress or Senate propose they fund HealthCare Reform with the current Cigarette and Alcohol Taxes that are being collected

Currently Americans pay an estimated $100Billion annually in State and Federal Taxes.

Certainly 2 of the BIGGEST deterrents to good heath in America. I'm not proposing NEW taxes. In fact a moratorium on states collecting sales or sin tax on those products and the Federal Government to collect the equivalent amount only to be used for funding HealthCare Reform

[endless october]

1. fuck that.

regressive taxes on the poor aren't the way to fund it.

fund single payer by ending all wars.

[FreakinDJ]

2. Those Taxes are already being collected

these aren't NEW

Additionally the Health Risks associated with alcohol and cigarette consumption warrant the expenditure on Health Care rather then advertising dollars and political "pet projects"

[endless october]

3. yes, and they're being used to fund SCHIP

are we going to defund SCHIP to pay for HCR? where is the extra money going to come from? there isn't enough extra money coming from existing sin taxes to float HCR.

it's going to come from RAISING those sin taxes. every couple years. so the rich will get off scot free and the poor can pay for "reform" that isn't even reform?

i repeat, fuck that.

i used to smoke. i hate tobacco. i hate regressive taxes and black markets more.

[FreakinDJ]

5. Only a SMALL Fraction go to pay SCHIP

the majority of those funds are scaundered on pet projects

And who needs SCHIP with a fully funded Health Care

[endless october]

7. but we aren't getting fully funded healthcare.

regardless, there's not enough money being collected from smokers and drinkers to do that without raising the taxes. there might theoretically be enough, but then other taxes are going to still have to be raised all over the place for the stuff you displace to pay for "reform."

either the rich pay for it or we do the smart thing by ending the war and pay for it that way. that's my vote.

using the poor to pay for it is not even an option, in my opinion.

[FreakinDJ]

8. $.66 cents out $3.00 going to SCHIP

While I agree the Tax will disproportionately effect the poor to a greater degree you have to realize these are taxes ALREADY being collected.

Additionally if folks don't know cigarettes are bad for them by now then - well.....

So programs like they have here in California that place sin taxes on cigarettes to inform people of the adverse effects of smoking are pretty pointless and better priorities for the funds need to be found.

Like wise your proposed ending the war to pay health care cost is good but now you have created a even larger impasse to any sort of meaningful reform. Not that it isn't a good idea. Just that passing such legislation would be impossible

[OHdem10]

4. The Truth is they collect Cigarette Taxes, the States collect Cigarette

Taxes. Honest Politicians will tell you that there are not
enough smokers to get any amount of money for anything.

It is past time to say to the people: Healthcare id not
free anywhere in the world. Do you want to pay taxes
to pay for it or Do you want to continue to be squeezed
by high Premiums and pay Insurance Company. Our Politicians
have decided for us: Pay the Insurance Companies.

Cigarette taxes are a joke. They make people feel good.
Then the Politicians rob SS and every other program to
make up for the cigarette taxes they did not collect because
there are not enough smokers.

[FreakinDJ]

6. $30 Billion annually cigarettes alone

add alcohol for another 70 $Billion

[laughingliberal]

9. It's good you aren't proposing NEW taxes on these

They might realize some additional revenue from increasing alcohol taxes but they have reached diminishing returns on the cigarette taxes. One of those situations where you have conflicting goals: one goal was to decrease smoking, another was to raise revenue. Success in the first goal thwarts the second goal. Not sure where they are going next for the money but I think it's high time we looked at raising the top rates for federal income taxes. Way past time we should have, in fact.