Now INDIANA, Take Notice! Especially Moe, Larry & Especially CURLY!

http://www.southtownstar.com/news/opinion/editorials/1378992,011509edit.article

Excerpts: (Click on the link for the full article.)
January 15, 2009

THE ISSUE: A legislator is proposing the state doubleits cigarette tax as a way to generate more money for the budget.

WE SAY: Smokers pay exorbitant taxes already, and we shouldn't be looking for new income in their pockets. Besides, this tax increase would hurt the poor more than the wealthy, and will drive even more Southlanders into Indiana to spend their money.

But here's the bigger picture, which we hope legislators take into consideration. When Southland residents head into Indiana for their cigarette fix, it's unlikely they'll just head for the cheap cigarette stand and hightail it home. They may stop at Target or one of the malls because the state sales tax is cheaper. They may fill up their car because the gas tax is cheaper. And since they're making a day of it, why not grab a meal and head to the casinos, where - for better or worse - you can still light up with impunity.

Just how many tax dollars will that be? Multiply it by people in Rockford and Lake County skipping over to Wisconsin, Moline and Rock Island-area residents going to Iowa, Alton and Carbondale denizens going to Missouri (where the state cigarette tax is only 17 cents!), and that's a lot of money going to governments and businesses outside the Land of Lincoln.

And if this is not enough food for thought, consider that this tax will affect the poor far more than the wealthy. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that people with a college degree and the accompanying higher earning power are four times less likely to smoke than those who didn't go to college.


The problem with any new tax is it does not go to the root of the problem. We need reduced spending, not Band-Aid fixes. Why should we be tightening our belts in these increasingly shaky times and governments not doing the same?
Sorry, but we don't believe every ounce of fat has been trimmed from the state budget. After all, last year the General Assembly was all set to give legislators a 12 percent raise until public outcry shamed them into rejecting it. And this in a year where there is still a huge unresolved budget deficit.

Someday someone's going to say, let's have an independent auditor - not a firm that's forked over big campaign donations, not one that employs the brother-in-law or the cousin or the nephew of some top-ranking honcho - go through the state's books with a fine-tooth comb. Someone immune from state pressure who can find the sacred cows and ask why this and why this much.

Well, we can dream, can't we? Until then, we urge legislators to look for cuts before imposing any new takes, particularly those that penalize people who can least afford it and will only serve to drive people into other states to spend their money.


So. now Indiana must consider opening the stupid Blue Law forbidding alcohol sales on Sundays, and drop any thought of limiting smoking on casinos, unless you, Mr. Curly, are more concerned about much more important things in Indiana. No one complains about smoking....if you want a state-wide band, stick it; look what it did to Illinois.

We're ahead of Illinois; don't drag Indiana down to their desperation. Indiana is reaping the fruits from the ills of Illinois' mistakes. Go the extra mile and open up that old Blue Law, and forget about that state-wide band on smoking. You always have those idiots that never left their house, wanting to complain about something. Leave things the way they are,but open up the Blue Law prohibiting alcohol sales on Sundays & enjoy more revenue when Crook County residents head into Indiana/Michigan for weekend escapades. May it be the Dunes, or whatever, Indiana needs to thrive on Illinois' dumb, stupid mistakes. They need to take advantage of what IL has done to itself. Do the opposite.