Nearly 1/2 of US households don't owe income tax

Originally posted by KazetNagorra
Yes, but if they are troubled by the rising cost of tobacco they can stop smoking. You know, this personal responsibility thing that Republicans tend to applaud so often.

Are you such a state worshipper you don't comprehend your own words.

So called sin taxes, i.e. trying to modify peoples behaviour i.e. treating them like lab rats, by manipulating prices is the opposite of personal responsibility.

Not only that, if smokers are to be punished/fined/taxed for smoking i.e. supposedly doing something bad, then why the hell is a man doing productive work to feed his family being taxed/fined/punished.

Originally posted by Wajoma
Are you such a state worshipper you don't comprehend your own words.

So called sin taxes, i.e. trying to modify peoples behaviour i.e. treating them like lab rats, by manipulating prices is the opposite of personal responsibility.

Not only that, if smokers are to be punished/fined/taxed for smoking i.e. supposedly doing something bad, then why the hell is a man doing productive work to feed his family being taxed/fined/punished.

I guess to feed his family.

Originally posted by telerion
Oh the irony!

Oh, the sarcasm! What a clever little Dick you are!

Originally posted by Sartor Resartus
Oh, the sarcasm! What a clever little Dick you are!

Thank you, Jane. Or perhaps you prefer Spot?

Originally posted by whodey
That is not the point. The point is that the people who do smoke are on average the poor. It reminds me of a lot of the money hungry liberals pushing gambling into their respective states. They too feed off the poor. Go figure?

Excuse me, conservatives are not "money hungry"?

Don't you enjoy money?

Originally posted by telerion
Thank you, Jane. Or perhaps you prefer Spot?

What a queer retort!

Originally posted by whodey
Er...um.....who typically smokes? Is it the "rich"? Nope. Last I checked, the Obama spend/tax regime raised the economically disadvantaged cost of living by taxing their smokes. Other than that, I would agree that their taxes have not gone up for the poor.

However, is this the whole story? In fact, did "W" raise the taxes of the "poor"? Nope. "W", l rs in other countries.

All I can say is, BUSHAMA IN 2012!!! Keep the dream alive!!

you want to help increase the living standards for poor people. Here are the basic approaches currently being used.

1. help them get better skills -- education and job training
2. help them to avoid bad lifestyle choices -- such as drugs, alcohol, gambling, sex outside marriage etc
3. make sure that employers discriminate only on the basis of actual job qualifications.
4. stimulate job creation in places where poor people live.
5. government directly provides the jobs. (the military is a major source of such jobs.)

however -- even if all people had Harvard educations and degrees in rocket science, and even if all people were perfectly virtuous, someone would still need to wash the floors and take out the trash. So we need to ensure that there is a minimum standard of living available for everyone who "plays by the rules". So we also need to do:

5. tax breaks and-or direct assistance to help with food, rent, medical care, child care, etc
6. help local churches, charities, & communities in aiding the poor.

Should more be done in any of these areas? If so, which ones? Do you have any additional ideas that I haven't mentioned?