Recently the Indiana House of Representatives voted on whether or not to raise the tax paid on cigarettes in order to fund healthcare. This whole idea seems really odd to me. Yes, I think too many people smoke, and yes I think we need to have health insurance for the uninsured. But why should someone who smokes have to pay more for cigarettes because I find it repulsive.

I have studied peoples' spending habits for years, and raising the cost of cigarettes would not prevent people from smoking. People know that they will die sooner when they smoke, so making them pay more for the right to die sooner will not really matter to them. Should fruit and vegetables cost less? Should pizza cost more?

I have made a list of possible taxes that are more beneficial for society, and make more sense then raising the cost of cigarettes.
1. A tax on elementay school aged girls that wear make-up.
2. A tax on credit cards.
3. A tax on people who own ferrets
4. A tax on people with comb-overs
5. A tax on people that don't read my blog

There is no doubt that smoking will have an economic impact on smokers' lives, but this proposal (which was rejected) was not the way to change that.