Arkansas Blog

One supposes the state thinks there will always be nicotine addiction.

But what if American Lung Foundation and public schools became real effective
and reduced smoking another 50% ? Where will those specialty tax people get
their bucks.

"One supposes the state thinks there will always be nicotine addiction."

Elwood, if 50 cents is the best they can do, there will always be nicotine addiction. To effectively reduce tobacco use a significant tobacco tax of a dollar or more would be required. Anything less and the industry offsets any deterrent cost with coupons and discounts. The industry can afford to spend $18,000 an hour in Arkansas and still profit. The same way tobacco companies could absorb $246 billion in 1998 they can accommodate ineffectual use of tobacco taxes.

Using a tobacco tax as a simple revenue stream without thought to real revenue saving measures that reduce tobacco use is unfortunate legislation.

That said, the cost of tobacco related health care will dwarf tobacco tax revenue until a pack costs about $10 apiece so every little bit reduces the tobacco industry subsidy. Imagine tobacco taxes as a sort of severance for the percentage of the community we let tobacco companies addict, sicken, and kill.

The real money is in effective tobacco prevention: significant tax increases, marketing reform, tobacco free space.

Kindly take pains to mail the snakes to some other zoo before tearing it down, if you will. Its a crying shame, the state of our zoo nowadays. It looks almost as bad as the capitol does when the monkeys over there are in session.

What has the State (Gen. Assembly) got to do with tearing down the Little Rock zoo? And nothing said about Thomas Paine Day? Well, kiss my grits!

So....let's apply some much needed common sense here shall we?

The idea of 'sin' taxes is that those singled out for increased taxation will be forced to change their habit(s) that we as a Society find offensive/damaging. If the end result meets the intent, essentially there will be no more taxes collected from the 'offenders' because the tax will force the action desired.

Rather than pass a tax that all members of Society can pay equally for a benefit that will be shared equally, we seem to insist on a select minority of society pay for the benefit. Should the 'sin tax' work as designed, Society will no doubt be left holding the bag as no one (or not enough) will remain to pay for the benefit the rest of Society will reap.

Moralizing about sin tax, sinners, and what not neglects the fact that tobacco related disease is profit driven. Those that profit from tobacco want us to talk about the issue as if nicotine addiction was the result of some benign weed by the side of the road people just happen to choose. But tobacco use is the result of sophisticated marketing of a highly developed highly addictive nicotine product.

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death and disease. By far. More than the top five leading causes combined. It is quite reasonable for a community to take measures that will reduce harm and protect the public health. Research the world over has shown significant tobacco taxes are one of the most effective tools to do this. It is perhaps not so reasonable to look at tobacco taxes as a simple revenue stream.

Increasing tobacco taxes less than what the industry can effectively pass down to consumers without reducing use is at best a wasted opportunity. At worst it serves to further institutionalize our tolerance and accommodation of a predatory rogue industry.

Unfortunately some members of the coalition that are pushing the tobacco tax may not be as hip to challenging tobacco as they are to raising revenue.

Arkansas' 59 cents/pack is the 38th lowest tobacco tax in the country. To date I think our smoking rate is about 10th highest. We should take the opportunity to whittle away at that while funding other important public health needs. It is the significant tobacco tax that will reduce prevalence.

Cato is right. The state can't tear down the Little Rock Zoo. If you have an opinion about it, the city directors and the mayor are the ones to contact. In a 2007 survey, 67% of residents who responded rated the zoo as good or excellent, though 58% said they hadn't been to the zoo in the past year. For me it's not a tough call: I go to the zoo several times a year and have many great memories of going there with my mom when I was little. I'd be really sad if we lost it.

Yes I have questions Gov. Beebee, Brummett would never ask you something like this, but I will.

In the Jan.6th,2009 edition of Arkansas Business there is an article entitled; Tyson Foods to Pay $500,000 fine And Serve One Year Probation in Worker Death.
Now it goes on to explain Tyson Foods was aware of the danger of the gas that killed the worker Mr. Kelly, and that it was present at the Texarkana Plant, and did not take sufficient steps to reduce exposure, or train employees to handle the gas. Also this is the MAXIMUM CRIMINAL FINE. The artical went on to say the plant or company will be on probation for ONE YEAR.

Now if we as individauls went out with our vehicles or something under our control. And caused the death, or injury of another humanbeing or even in some cases animals. Would find ourselves in jail for negligence homicide. And in most cases find ourselves bunking with Bubba for a number of years.

My real question is how did we arrive to these double standards. The Boss is always right, even when we know he is wrong cause he's BOSS. I was reading an artical in a magazine a while back about a refridgarator plant in China that knowingly produced some defective units, the officals came in and marched the managers out in a feild in front of all the workers and shot them in the head and left them laying. I agree this sounds a little drastic , maybe alot;

But where as a society did we come to these standards? We as labours build these people their goods and buy them back. And he gets the Lions Share, we should be satisified with the scraps. And thats the way it is supposed to be! Who says? I thought it said a fair day wage for a fair day work. I thought this was our social standard.

Oh you argue the got a $500,000 fine and a years probation. Now I ask you who is going to pay this fine? The consumer of course, and who is going to watch these guys while they are on probation? These Justice Dept. bureaucrats? I don't think so. They are not going into one of these stinking plants and keep an eye on them. So they wait til the next time, and give them the maximum fine and probation again. I'm telling all you other little sheep, we are some sick puppies.

Now Mr. Brummett ask the Gov. about that.

Americonio, you are not from around here are you?
Bob Johnson, one of our leaders, tells us that the 'titans of industry' deserve our respect!
Government needs to back off of these giants.*
How can you question an industry that has done so much for our state?
One worker more or less doesn't matter. If Tyson gets mad, lots of us lose our jobs.
Bob Stephens Johnson understands that as does John Stephens Brummett.
You need to get that through your thick skull and either shut up or leave$

$=sarcasm

Seriously, yours was the best post I've read in a while. Keep it coming. If you don't have a blog site of your own, let me know.

It's time that Arkansans (and their so-called representatives) quit letting industry hold workers hostage--threatening to leave and take jobs if they don't get their way.

On the smoking thing, all of zara is correct.
If everyone in Arkansas quits smoking, the state will save enough on medical bills to put a trauma system in every county. Smoking isn't sinful but it's just more of the titans of industry making money off poor, uneducated Arkansans. If a government of the people says enough's enough, that's not bad. It would be better if we could tax the people who profit from cigarettes instead of the smokers--they get tax and cancer--but that's not an option. Ask Bob Johnson why it's not.

norgi

*(see Blomeley's Dem-Gaze pay-per-view article or summary at my site. Search "Johnson")