Washington has come up with another way to screw the middle class. It’s called the “PACT Act”, and “PACT” stands for “Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking”.
The idea behind it is to stop people from being able to order their cigarettes from online vendors or from Indian reservations, or any place other than your local retailer, where you’re probably paying $10 a pack these days (versus as low as $2 a pack through the Indian reservations).
Of course, this is a regressive tax that targets blue-collar people and people earning UNDER the coveted “250k” mark, because most smokers are middle to lower-middle class.
There’s one exemption for tobacco products in the PACT Act, and guess what it is? Cigars. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why. Politicians and rich people smoke cigars. Therefore, cigars will be exempt from the PACT Act.
It stinks to high heaven. Read the bill here, and tell me it doesn’t.
Now cross your fingers and hope this thing doesn’t pass. Not only does it hurt the average tobacco consumer, it also hurts the Indian reservations making money off of tobacco sales, which is why the Seneca Nation is urging Congress to vote against it. I smoke Senecas myself, and I get them cheaply, but if the PACT Act goes through, I’m going to be spending a few thousand dollars more per year to get my cigarettes.
People have the right to smoke, as stupid as it is. People have the right to be stupid, frankly, as long as there stupidity doesn’t infringe upon someone else’s personal liberties. So give it a rest, Congress, eh?
