As expected, President Bush has vetoed the children’s health care bill known as SCHIP, and as expected the Democrats vow to override, a political posture with little chance of actual success.
In the spirit of the times SCHIP (as legislated by the exalted "us") would have had smokers (the reeking "them") pick up the whole tab. This would have raised cigarette prices by sixty-one cents per pack. Cigarettes typically retail at about five dollars at a convenience store now and many foolish people pay that price. The actual retail value, sans compounded taxes and litigation premiums, is no more than a buck. Giving credit where it’s due, along the way in this debate President Bush mentioned the regressive and unfair nature of the funding provision, a surprising if tacit admission from a political figure in this age that smokers might have some proto-human characteristics. If the SCHIP scare is over for the moment do not expect any let-up in smoker abuse from your legislatures in the all in all. Our esteemed leaders will only lose that tendency when we beat it out of them.
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