Cigarette tax plan dead under Sanford veto

The House failed to overturn a veto issued by Gov. Mark Sanford Tuesday, killing a 50 cents a pack cigarette tax advocates say would have helped 80,000 South Carolinians attain health care.

Sanford vetoed the tax because he wanted the Legislature to cut taxes elsewhere by an equal amount. The House failed to uphold the veto because it could not agree on how the estimated $159 million would be spent.

House lawmakers engaged in hours of heated debate that centered on race and class divisions. Some House members supporting the veto did not want the money to go toward expanding Medicaid, which pays for health care for the poor.

Comments

[wtf]

what a bunch of big babies.

Rather than collect the tax money and debate about how to spend it later while the money sits in State coffers, Sanford puts his thumb in his mouth, pouts and lets the State miss out in hundreds of millions of much needed dollars.

Maybe the truth is that Sanford's lobbyists were all fighting over which pet project would get the money first.

[Larry e. Creel]

If South Carolina's political contraption produced a product like a sensible tax on tobacco or serious regulation of the predatory lending industry, what would the nation think?

[Larry e. Creel]

If South Carolina's political contraption produced a product like a sensible tax on tobacco or serious regulation of the predatory lending industry, what would the nation think?

[Larry e. Creel]

If South Carolina's political contraption produced a product like a sensible tax on tobacco or serious regulation of the predatory lending industry, what would the nation think?

[charles o.]

the tax money is not coming from the tobacco companies but from the pockets of
working people - poor and rich but mostly
less well off.
don't need new taxes just cut the pork out.
good for Sanford - this country needs
more like him.

[james]

It isn't government's purpose to provide health care.

(I think we should raise taxes on gas so the government can afford to buy everyone a new car!)

[Fargo51]

I would like to propose a SC law myself. The following should be on every elected SC state officials letterhead and communications: "Doing NOTHING, is better than doing SOMETHING." Just keep paying me.

What a pathetic and INEPT lot.

[holden]

In the dictionary next to the word "worthless" is a picture of the SC Legislature. Sanford is probably shown next to "fool." No, on second thought, fools would be those of us who have elected and re-elected this lot and allowed them to run OUR state like THEIR private club.

[thomasandrews]

What a shame. For more on the tobacco tax see
http://anewdirectionforsouthcarolina.wordpress.com/

[thomasandrews]

What a shame. For more on the tobacco tax see
http://anewdirectionforsouthcarolina.wordpress.com/

[Jane]

Let me get this straight, it's ok to tax smokers because they may cost more in healthcare at sometime in the future, but the even bigger excuse for this tax is that the more cigarettes cost, the fewer teens will smoke. Nevermind the fact that we have laws against underage smoking that we won't/can't enforce, but how does this reconcile with the movement all across the country to give teens birth control without parents consent or knowledge. Hmmm...you can't smoke (but you're going to anyway) but have all the sex you want (since you're going to anyway).
I heard something today about a push to have a carbon credit 'allotment' detailing your carbon footprint...and if you go over your limit, you'll need to purchase 'credits' from others who haven't used all theirs. Not sure if I have the details right, but the gist is there. Just wait until this 'unfair' tax starts hitting people and see how they yell.
My point is that people sat by and let themselves be caught up in the 'smoking' ban craze, let TV commercials tell our kids it's ok to call smokers 'buttheads', and pushed gov'ts to essentially become legalized drug pushers for the almightly tax dollar. This has been so successful let's see how many areas of your life will be taken over by 'sin' tax, 'carbon' tax, 'fat' tax, etc, etc.
My sincere thanks to Gov. Sanford for his veto..albeit for the wrong reasons.
I understand smoke offends people, many are sensitive to it...it's a nasty habit. I have no problem with banning smoking in public buildings, but it's a stretch to think walking near a smoker outdoors is going to doom you to death...especially since you just sat 20 minutes in a traffic jam inhaling exhaust while gulping down your 'Big Mac' and diet coke.