This morning, I walked into a local convenience store to buy newspapers and encountered an apologetic store owner explaining to an incredulous customer why his pack of Marlboro Lights would now cost a whopping $6.79.
That's because our embarrassment of a legislature just jacked up cigarette prices by a dollar per pack and gave shopkeepers absolutely no time to implement the changes.
Do the Beacon Hill Corruptocrats really believe this will generate $175m in additional revenue? Isn't it obvious Bay State smokers will find their smokes elsewhere? Cigarette smugglers must be doing handstands today.
This approach has failed everywhere it has been attempted, but we live in a state where politicians repeat the same foolish mistakes, each time hoping for a different outcome. In a year or two we will be hearing about how higher taxes led to FALLING revenues.
Back to that customer- how soon before he realizes there are cheaper smokes available by circumventing the law? How soon does widespread evasion become the norm?
I caught one local host briefly mentioning this TERRIFIC talk radio topic today before quickly moving on to Obama, Obama and more Obama. At this point, I'd rather hear about nearly anything else.
We have a serious problem with local hosts who are unable to fully develop compelling topics. Some Talk Radio 101 coaching is in order.
