Congress Want Smokers to Help Fund the New World Order
On October 3, 2007, President Bush vetoed H.R. 976, a bill passed by Congress that would have expanded the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) program by $35 billion because he believed the bill would “federalize health care”, expanding the scope of SCHIP much farther than its original intent.
SCHIP was founded by Senator Ted Kennedy and First Lady (now a senator from New York) Hillary Rodham Clinton in 1997 in their incremental attempt to federalize health care in the United States and further solidify the influence of the New World Order over it’s citizens.
The expansion of the SCHIP program was to have been funded by an over one hundred percent increase in cigarette and cigar taxes, coming to an increase of 61 cents per pack of cigarettes nationwide. A Cato Institute briefing paper argues that the cigarette excise is a regressive tax for which people making under $10,000 per year pay twice as much as those making $50,000 per year.
This latest proposal would have increased coverage to over 4 million more participants by 2012, and also would have phased out most state expansions in the program that include any adults other than pregnant women. It also would have increased the eligibility from couples earning up to 200% of the federal poverty level to couples earning 300% of the federal poverty level, approximately $62,000 for a family of four.
As I’ve stated elsewhere, “the ongoing anti-smoking campaign is not about public health. What it is all about is money, control, and jurisdiction.” The current public health propaganda campaign being waged against the tobacco industry and smokers amounts to extortion by the U.S. government at both the federal and state levels, trial lawyers, insurance companies, and many others in the health related professions. They are simply coercing your money from you through the spreading of fear and in many cases outright lies in exchange for higher taxes, huge legal fees, higher insurance premiums, and higher medical fees.
IT’S BACK……….
The latest attempt to expand the SCHIP program seems to be sailing through Congress and Obama is likely to sign it into law when it reaches his desk.
As before, it contains big tax increases so Washington can take kids off private health insurance and put them on public subsidies. This expansion would make eligible for federally subsidized insurance about 2 million children who are currently covered by private health insurance. It would cover families making as much as three times the federal poverty level.
The bill also allows for immigrants, both legal and illegal, to access SCHIP funds, although illegal immigrants may only do so for 90 days. But the bill eliminates the need for an immigrant to show a photo ID or papers proving that he/she is legal.
How do they pay for this Socialist program?
That’s right… just like before… smokers get to pay.
The bill raises the federal tax on a pack of cigarettes from 39 cents to $1. It raises taxes on small cigars to $12.50 per 1,000 cigars this year, then to $50 per 1,000 in 2015! The tax rate on large cigars is raised to more than 50 percent, with a cap of 40 cents per cigar — eight times the current tax. The tax on Roll Your Own tobacco will increase from $1.0969 per pound to $24.62 per pound (yes, $24.62 per pound).