Perry Raises Cig Taxes by $1.00 Per Pack

Head O'Hair Perry, governor of Texas, has decided to raise taxes on cigarettes by $1.00 per pack starting in January, 2007, bless his heart. Now Texas joins other states in making smokers pay more taxes per purchase than on any other product on the market.

What does this mean, other than an extra buck per pack to smokers? Well, it will mean a strong black market for smokes, and an increased danger to store clerks, now that ciggies have become so valuable. With a quarter of the nation still smoking, unless you have a reservation nearby, you may have to choose between smokes and cheap booze to settle your nerves. Yessir, between state taxes already in place, and the federal excise tax, I'm more than proud to be a contributor to the crooks in our state legislature who, like all the states that received money from the last smokers' settlement, will most likely spend the extra money on pork, the other white meat.

Black markets, dead store clerks? Is that the goal of Rick Perry? Has the asshole even thought this through? I think not. I hope that some attorney comes up with the notion that smokers, yes smokers, are exposed to second-hand smoke just like non-smokers. Maybe that'll keep 'em in court for awhile.

An old friend of mine remembers when his dad used to put two dimes in a cigarette machine, retrieve a pack of Luckies with 4 pennies left in the pack, for a total of sixteen cents per pack. They were just thirty five cents a pack when I started smoking. I only hope that the rest of you don't become the focus of "criminal" behavior, and find yourselves paying outrageous taxes on clothes made in China, or songwriter/publisher royalties diminished to the point of no return. Hey, nobody's lookin' - what's say we download this new movie for free?!

Keep it up, kidz. Sooner, rather than later, smokers will join the homeless, the damaged veterans, and the mentally ill on your streets. Please, do your best to sidestep them, won't you?