Florida Will Smoke Its Way To A Better Future

Humor being the last refuge of the damned, one has to chuckle at the irony in this particular item. It's surreal, but yes, our Republican legislature refused to close its enormous budget gap by raising taxes on cigarettes, while at the same it decided to raid the rainy day fund...

By Thomas Francis

January 15, 2009

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Humor being the last refuge of the damned, one has to chuckle at the irony in this particular item. It's surreal, but yes, our Republican legislature refused to close its enormous budget gap by raising taxes on cigarettes, while at the same it decided to raid the rainy day fund that was created by the state's suit against big tobacco.

Politicians love to make analogies between their decisions and those decisions that "hard-working families" must make. So how can we make sense of this one? Joe and Jane Six Pack turn down the raise their bosses would give them so that they can dig into their college and retirement funds to pay for their living expenses?

Nope, that's doesn't compute. So let's add another variable to the analogy: a tobacco lobbyist who's willing to pay Joe and Jane as long as they screw over their neighbors. Yep, now it fits!

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