One Guy's Opinion on the Political Scene By: Jim Herndon
Too Much Government
My sister in Iowa sent me a newspaper article about a new Iowa tax on tobacco that perfectly describes what happens when we get too much government in our lives – the bureaucratic bungling, ineptness, and unintended consequences of their well-intended motives of taking over our lives because we are just plain too stupid to do the right thing.
The Democrat-controlled Iowa Legislature, the same wizards who got the bright idea to support one of their favorite support groups – the unions - by forcing even non-union workers to pay dues to the union, has raised the Iowa tax on cigarettes by a whopping $1 dollar per pack. Quoting from the article: “Cigarette sales in Iowa have dropped 36 percent in the year since the per-pack state tax went up $1. “The drop in Iowa sales was almost universally attributed to the new law, which raised the cigarette tax to $1.36, among the highest in the nation.”
The Iowa Democrats are so reveling in their liberal “feel good” mode thinking they are doing something to reduce smoking, they are oblivious to the fact that smokers are driving to Missouri where the tax per pack is only 17 cents. Again, from the article: "’We sell hundreds of cartons of cigarettes to people from Iowa, and we love it,’ said Jo Hulet, manager of Sharp's BP convenience store in Bethany, Mo.” Ms. Hulet said the store’s profits have risen more than 50%, and she has met a lot of nice people from Iowa since the new tax went into effect.
It is illegal to bring more than two packs of cigarettes into Iowa, and, if caught, Iowans will incur a heavy fine, but saving $15 on a carton is a powerful temptation. This is one more case where government mismanagement and failure to understand the public have caused citizens to, not only lose respect for our laws, but break the law. The only surprise about this is that the Socialist Des Moines Register let the article come to print.