Despite massive cuts and the addition of federal stimulus dollars, the Georgia Legislature is considering furloughing teachers and underfunding Medicaid in order to balance the 2010 state budget. They are making choices that can cripple our state for years to come. There is an option that can ease this crisis.
Lawmakers have yet to consider raising the cigarette tax. Conservative estimates project that raising the cigarette tax by $1 can increase revenue by as much as $300 million, reduce smoking and save lives. Twenty states are considering this option, including Florida, South Carolina, Mississippi, and North Carolina.
What does it say about the state’s priorities that it is more acceptable to furlough teachers and jeopardize Medicaid than to increase the tax on cigarettes? Forty-three states have higher tax rates than Georgia, and the Peach State’s current tax rate of $0.37 falls well below the national average of $1.21. Why are legislators making children’s health and children’s education suffer when there are reasonable solutions like passing a cigarette tax?
These are questions we must ask our elected officials. It is too important to let the state budget pass with these severe cuts when a remedy is at hand. Please call your legislator today.
June Deen, Director of Advocacy
American Lung Association of Georgia
2452 Spring Rd
Smyrna, GA 30080
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Passing such legislation will eventually lead to cigarettes being akin to marijuana and other drugs. Are you saying you want to bear the responsibility of causing sheer pandemonium and furthering the drug crisis in this country?