Apr 02 2008
Republican Hugh Leatherman Wants to Legislate Your Lifestyle and Expand Socialism
The cigarette tax increase proposal has been bouncing all over the board this week. First a committee approved it, then it got stalled, now it is moving forward again to have the increase in taxes go to Medicaid.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Hugh Leatherman voted for both versions of the bill.
“I want to see the cigarette tax go on so we can cut down on smoking particularly among the teenage youngsters out there,” said the Florence Republican, who added he wants the extra tax money used for some type of health care program.
Hugh Leatherman thinks it’s his job to legislate your lifestyle. Instead of people making a conscious decision on their own to decide whether or not to smoke he thinks he’ll help make that decision for them. He uses the old “it’s all about the children” mantra to justify his authoritarianism and expansion of the Socialist nanny state. The man is another shining example of what is becoming big government neo-conservatism in the Republican Party.
Sen. John Courson, R-Columbia, said he will be back on the Senate floor with a proposal to use the money collected by raising the cigarette tax as a break for all taxpayers.
Senator Courson, on the other hand, has it exactly right. Use this money to lower taxes across the board for all South Carolinians or don’t do anything at all.
Senator Hugh K. Leatherman, Sr.
District 31 - Darlington & Florence Cos.
Contact Address:
| (H) | 1817 Pineland Ave., Florence, 29501 | |||
| Bus. | (843) 662-0388 | Home | (843) 667-1152 | |
| (C) | 111 Gressette Bldg., Columbia, 29201 | |||
| Bus. | (803) 212-6640 | |||
E-Mail Address: SFI@scsenate.org
Kudos to Senator Leatherman for helping to bring our beloved state out of the “Tobacco paid for this truck” mindset. Health issues caused by tobacco use are certainly well known, so it makes sense to discourage it’s use by raising the cost and using the windfall to relieve the damage done by smoking on the citizens of SC. I’d say Mr. Leatherman is in not only the majority of forward thinkers in SC, but has plenty of company nationwide on the effort to reduce the use and negative impact of tobacco on our citizens-youth most certainly included!