Relax. The rest stops in Minnesota are open again. The budget crisis that had idled 9000 state workers, including maintenance workers at the rest stops from July 1 to July 8th has been resolved. Citizens of Minnesota are a proud bunch. I am getting very little information on what the scene was like during the fourth of July at these rest areas, but you can imagine.
In the compromise budget agreement, the 75cent per pack "health impact fee" was approved and was the source of funding for the 15% increase in the health and welfare spending budget that totaled $9.3 billion.
Click on the post for the entire story. The question for the WATERCOOLER this morning is whether Wisconsin should add a 75 cent cigarette tax just as Minnesota has done.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
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I think every state should go with this same type of thing. Because it's not fair to those of us who have never smoked a day in our lives and are sick and tired of listening to smoker's whine about their 'right' to smoke. What about our right not to have to pay for these people's medical bills through medicaid and public assistance? I
ReplyDeletedon't think we should have to pay for their medical care, when they have a medical issue brought on from smoking, something they could have not done. I know not everyone turns to public programs for health care, plenty have their own health ins, but plenty do not. This is not a issue of having ins or not, this is should we as tax payers have to pick up someone else's medical bills because they chose to smoke? Not fair. The state's , this country need to have someone to get back some of the money they spend. They also need to get more out of the cig. company's.
I also think there should be the same type of ' health impact fee' on any type of alcohol and the money should go to the family's who have lost someone one to a idiot, drunk driver.
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