Proposition 86 - An direct tax for indirect causes

California is preparing to vote on Proposition 86 which, if passed, will add $2.60 excise tax to each pack of cigarettes. There is presently a tax of $0.87 per pack. The $0.87 raises about $1 billion per year which funds childhood development (57% of the total), tobacco education (28%), the general fund (11%) and breast cancer research (2%). If passed, the estimated $2 billion will be spent on hospital and emergency room care (53%), children health coverage (43%) and research (5%). All of these expenditures are certainly worthwhile and well intended.

The question is: why should the estimated 5 million smokers in California, 14% of the total population, contribute $575 million dollars to childhood development? And why should they be individually selected to pay another $1 billion dollars to pay hospitals and doctors and another $840 million for children's' health coverage. Only 5% of this spurious tax will fund tobacco research. Is it because smokers are an easy target?

The pretense of this tax is that smoking is the leading cause of death in America (1 in 5 deaths is estimated) which could mean the smokers are using more health care than others. If this is the case, maybe we should spend some of the $50 million earmarked for research on what causes the death of the other 2 million people per year and tax them for it. Or if taxation of indirect causes are merited, should we tax over-weight people because they are proportionately heavier and use the proceeds to repair our state's stressed highways. Or tax beer-drinkers and direct the proceeds to our waste water treatment facilities. I mean, everyone knows they urinate more than non-drinkers.

Read the following information prepared by the state attorney general for more information and make your own conclusions.
http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/vig_06/general_06/pdf/proposition_86/entire_prop86.pdf#search=%22proposition%2086%20ca%22