We are talking the systematic dismantling and destruction of the American middle class.

They are eroding your buying power – and destroying your quality of life.

And people are either not smart enough to understand that …… too scared to comment on it …… or have some sick personal interest in promoting it to fruition.

Enjoy the ride. You are being taken to the cleaners!!! 😀

This is the way they intend to bailout the huge public pension funds that carry alot of this derivative toxic debt on their balance sheets. This will debase your buying power by one-half!!!

The long-legged mac daddy is about to pull another fast one on ya!!!!

BEWARE!!!!

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/05/as-an-encore-to-bailing-out-the-big-banks-government-to-backstop-derivativees-clearinghouses-in-the-u-s-and-abroad.html

People need to know that not all heavy smokers get lung cancer. Only a small minority of them do. They must have a predisposition for cancer in their genetic makeup first. Smoking aggravates that predisposition.

And not all diabetics are fat people or those who eat too much sugar. Again, the genetic predisposition must come first. I know quite a few thin or people w/medium builds who are NOT overweight who have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. Does being overweight cause the disease to surface in those prone to it??? Absolutely. Is it better to watch one’s diet regardless? Absolutely!

But brow beating smokers who mostly consist of those in lower economic classes is bald-faced bullying! You’ve heard all the latest propoganda about bullying in the schools and new laws popping up related to ‘bullying’? How about when the government bullies people who do not have the resources to defend themselves??? If not for the tobacco companies throwing millions of dollars into defeating Prop 29 – the victims of Prop 29 would get royally screwed without a doubt. Now, at least, they have a fighting chance. Last poll I saw had it winning by a small margin.

Not true. If you smoke one cigarette a day, it won’t affect you at all. My Mom smoked half of two cigarettes a day, something she really enjoyed, and lived to 87. Her lungs were as healthy as when she was 22.

It’s a matter of degree. If you put a pinch of sugar in your morning coffee, it won’t kill you. But if you base your whole diet on sugar (and sugar-like foods such as high-fructose corn syrup), as many people do, you’ll get diabetes and might die.

As to the medical costs of smoking, the evidence is that, for serious smokers — a couple of packs a day — death from cancer or lung ailments actually *reduces* overall health costs. Such people die 10 years younger, saving taxpayers the long-term costs of Medicare and Social Security. Here’s an MSNBC story on a Centers for Disease Control study:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30092491/

As to the black market, here’s a 2008 AP article on the situation then:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/10/higher-cigarette-taxes-lu_n_96094.html

A recent cig tax increase in Spain boosted black market smokes:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-news/global-exchange/financial-times/black-market-cigarette-sales-jump-in-spain/article2287491/

— John Seiler

Of the people who smoke maybe 10% get lung cancer. 90% don’t get lung cancer. Yet 41% of Americans will get cancer in their lifetimes and 21% will die from it. I think some people have a misconception that 50% of more of smokers die from lung cancer. That is due to propoganda that we are constantly fed.

I am not pro-smoking. Is smoking bad for people? Sure it’s bad for them. But eating a jelly donut or sucking down a prime rib steak is bad for them too!

I think you’re question might be “Do smokers cost our medical system more than non-smokers over a lifetime?” And the answer to that question is most likely “yes”. But then the smoker is charged more for his health insurance too, so he suffers some consequence.

But the BIGGEST preventable medical condition that adds MOST cost onto our medical system is O-B-E-S-I-T-Y!!! And FAT PEOPLE in AMERICA are CODDLED!!!

Do you see how our system always makes excuses for fat people? They blame it on childhood emotional trauma or bad glands or a slow metabolism or genetics!!! HOGWASH!!!

Primarily obesity is a lack of discipline to push oneself away from the dinner table and to stop snacking inbetween meals!

So if the government is so dead set on taxing smokers – why doesn’t it tax FAT PEOPLE – or make residents pay a surcharge for every 10 pounds that they are overweight??? BUT YOU WILL NEVER SEE THAT!!! WHY??? BECAUSE FAT PEOPLE ARE A PROTECTED SPECIES REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY COST OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS EXTRA EVERY SINGLE YEAR!!!!!

So to answer your question – the medical costs per capita in our last 6 months of life are probably pretty similiar. But smokers probably cost more over a lifetime.

But good questions, johnnyb. I like people who think.

Baloney. Red meat is medically documented to clog the arteries leading to stroke or myocardial infactions, as well as certain forms of cancer. Candy bars, ice cream, pastries and sugar-laced drinks are documented to lead to diabetes in those with a predisposition for the disease. Obesity is the #1 killer in America. Obesity leads to a host of various diseases – many of which are terminal or require long term care like renal dialysis which is tremendously expensive. Tobacco doesn’t make people fat. But sugar-laced products do. Every time you eat a piece of cake, a candy bar, a bowl of ice cream, a regular soft drink, etc… maybe we should sock you with a 20% tax so that we can do more research on obesity and diabetes. How would that feel? I bet you would cry like a 2 year old and tell us how unfair it all is, wouldn’t you? 🙂

I love you holier than thou folks who love to impose your will on others and lift discretionary money from their pockets because you know what it right for them!!! HAH! 😀