{"id":517,"date":"2011-04-02T13:11:49","date_gmt":"2011-04-02T19:11:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theloungeisback.wordpress.com\/?p=517"},"modified":"2014-01-15T20:03:21","modified_gmt":"2014-01-15T20:03:21","slug":"arizona-considering-tax-on-smokers-obese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=517","title":{"rendered":"Arizona considering tax on smokers, obese"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"state-flag-arizona\"<\/a>
\nHah, that race-baiting Arizona governer Jan Brewer<\/a> is now suggesting that Arizona impose a tax on smokers and the obese.<\/p>\n

Arizona Medicaid may consider a $50 annual tax on smokers and the obese. What I find it funny is that Republicans piss and moan the loudest about NANNY STATE, and these are the most fascist right-wing Republicans on the planet proposing this. For instance, diabetics who fail to follow their doctor’s order to lose weight would have to pay this tax.<\/p>\n

I actually don’t have a strong opinion about this one way or the other (Private insurance companies already charge smokers and diabetics more for their premiums, so it is not a novel concept). Again, I just find it funny that such a right-wing douchebag state administration that got voted into office by “keep gubmint out of our lives” old people (who are probably getting Medicare and Social Security) is considering doing this, apparently out of sheer desperation because their Medicaid is broke.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hah, that race-baiting Arizona governer Jan Brewer is now suggesting that Arizona impose a tax on smokers and the obese. Arizona Medicaid may consider a $50 annual tax on smokers and the obese. What I find it funny is that Republicans piss and moan the loudest about NANNY STATE, and these are the most fascist … Continue reading Arizona considering tax on smokers, obese<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1782,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[54,65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-right-wing-douchebags","category-taxes"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/state-flag-arizona.jpg?fit=600%2C399&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4hpEa-8l","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3754,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3754","url_meta":{"origin":517,"position":0},"title":"West Virginia — smoking rate 29.9 percent — Senate passes cigarette tax","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"February 25, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I have no idea if this bill is going to pass, but this in itself is a pretty amazing development. West Virginia, a solidly red Republican state (Obama got less than 30 percent of the vote in 2012) and \u00a0either the No. 1- or No. 2-ranked smoking state in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cigarette taxes"","block_context":{"text":"Cigarette taxes","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=382"},"img":{"alt_text":"327998b17e90494767b58df08ec4837c","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/327998b17e90494767b58df08ec4837c.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4030,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=4030","url_meta":{"origin":517,"position":1},"title":"Philip Morris keeps trying to undermine California’s tobacco tax","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"May 5, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Hello again from the Lounge, especially to all of our new readers from India. 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The industry also for many years had successfully lobbied the California State Legislature\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "California"","block_context":{"text":"California","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=350"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/920x920.jpg?fit=920%2C634&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/920x920.jpg?fit=920%2C634&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/920x920.jpg?fit=920%2C634&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/920x920.jpg?fit=920%2C634&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2918,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=2918","url_meta":{"origin":517,"position":2},"title":"Obama proposes raising federal cigarette tax 94 cents a pack","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"February 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"In Obama's\u00a0proposed 2016 budget, one thing quietly included is a raise in the federal cigarette tax. In 2009, the feds raised the cigarette tax from $0.39 a pack to $1.01 a pack. Obama is proposing in his 2016 budget raising that tax again to $1.95 a pack. \u00a0The money would\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cigarette taxes"","block_context":{"text":"Cigarette taxes","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=382"},"img":{"alt_text":"obama","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/obama.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":841,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=841","url_meta":{"origin":517,"position":3},"title":"Workplaces banning smokers — period. Is that cool?","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"January 12, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is something I've written about before, employers not only banning people from smoking on the premises, but refusing to hire smokers and firing people for being smokers. This USA Today article looks at this. There are a growing number of companies that are doing this, even including nicotine in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Anti-tobacco campaign"","block_context":{"text":"Anti-tobacco campaign","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=7"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/mizoram-no-smoking.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1016,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=1016","url_meta":{"origin":517,"position":4},"title":"Health Care Reform penalizes smokers","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"February 7, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"A little-known provision in the Health Care Reform law passed in 2010 is that it can penalize smokers -- by a LOT. Beginning in January 2014, for a 60-year-old smoker, the surcharge could be up to $6,000 a year. That surcharge gets bigger and bigger for older smokers. Ouch. 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