State applying smoke and mirrors

While I have to agree that the state is a mess, I do not necessarily agree with its approach to fixing our problems. As an example, adding a $1 tax to a pack of cigarettes singles out a minority group to fix a problem created by society and our state government.

It is not the smokers who have caused our state to become 66 percent overweight or obese. It is not smokers that have mismanaged the state money for decades, which has caused the problem. It is not smokers who have not had the foresight to see that our state would have a financial health crisis.

What do we pay our politicians for? Aren’t they supposed to lead us in a prosperous direction and safeguard our interests? Are they not supposed to be more intelligent than those of us who rely on them?

So now we have a catastrophe upon are our hands and somehow adding a $1 tax to cigarettes seems to be the best method of correction. I would like to suggest that we look at a much larger problem related to health.

If we are going to have to tax something let’s start taxing sugar, processed foods, unhealthy meal selections at fast food diners and restaurants, while at the same time reducing the tax rate on healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, water and natural sources of proteins, carbohydrates and fats in general.

How about giving someone a tax break for joining a health club, working out, losing weight, hiring a personal trainer or joining a group aerobics class? In other words, doing something to become healthier reduces the need for medical care and eases the state’s future debt.

But this would be too proactive, right? We all seem to know that the state does not want to really deal with the root causes of our health care crisis; they just want to apply some more smoke and mirrors.

Ron Adams

Bloomingdale