Comments about ‘Utah Legislature: Herbert won't veto cigarette tax hike’

He is a hypocrite. He stated earlier that he would veto a new cigarette tax. Why not just have a head tax and let the people that are using the system pay thier fair share. I think we'll all find out what people think about our political practices come voting time. The TEA party is a reality.

Too bad Herbert doesn’t have the courage to veto it. And too bad so many of our legislators gave into political expediency on this issue. I don’t smoke, and I think smoking is unwise, so the tax doesn’t affect me directly, but it affects us ALL in one way or another, because it’s a hit on freedom.

re: reason@1:37

Ditto!

So much for conservatives NOT RAISING taxes!

Good thing we've got those smokers to pay the bills WE DON'T WANT TO!

Just another classless politician with no integrity.
He just lost my vote.

Just another hypocrite. Since I don't smoke I won't pay this tax, but it is not fair for one group of citizens to pay for benefits, the rest of us enjoy. Don't we always complain about the "transfer of wealth"? This is just another transfer of wealth that is politcally correct. This is not right and I had higher hopes for Herbert. Just another day on the hill.

SUPRISE....SUPRISE....SUPRISE!!!!!

Don't get me wrong because I disagree with Herbert about 20% of the time ... but is there someone you agree with more that will run for Gov? Maybe the current county mayor ... but have you seen the mess him and the county council made of the unified PD?

And William's comment about the Tea Party ... is a great thought, but is it worth the risk? I mean I agree with some conservatives more than others, but if it splits conservatives then wouldn't that leave more librals as the bigger group? And I agree with them even less.

"I strongly believe the best thing we can do for our State, our citizens, and our economic recovery is to exercise continued fiscal restraint and to not raise taxes!"
-Governor Gary Herbert in the 2010 State of the State address.
'nuff said. vote for Corroon

Pragmatic decision by a good public servant. The state needs more revenues or it will need to cut more education. Do we really want more education cuts?

So the 'conservatives' are raising taxes? Got it. Bootstrappy and moral values.

In one word...discrimination! Oh....and I don't smoke!

Im voting for who ever runs against this flip-flopper.

That's it for me. I'll be going to Wyoming or Idaho for my tobacco and the State of Utah won't get a single penny from me anymore...and I'm sure I won't be going alone. I hope they LOSE money on this one. They need to start a sin tax for the overweight people instead. Costs more for health care. And if I die 10 years younger due to tobacco then isn't the health care system going to save money off of me???

In 1993 the cost of medical care for smoke related illness in the US was 79.1 Billion. I think a single dollar a pack is a small price to extract as payment for all the money that non smokers pay out to care for a class of selfish non brained people who are to blind to all the bad things that smoking causes the least being that smokers just stink.

My dad started smoking when he was 14. He tried to quit 50 times. Thanks to him and the Marlboro Man, I smoked, too, from the day I was born until my dad finally quit when I was 16. I get so sick of standing at bus stops, walking through store entrances, or walking through a park and getting fumagated by some jacka's smoke. When I went to the hospital to watch my dad die of lung cancer, and saw that he was far from alone - there was a floor full of veterans dying from it, and there were even guys waiting to die who were dying more to get a smoke. I say, put a million dollar tax on each pack. If it keeps one kid from becoming my dad, good on ya! Why is our legislature so afraid of appearing to be what they are? Why were we one of the last states to ban smoking in restaruants, airports, etc? Why are we afraid to have a cig tax that is above the national average? It's not a "sin tax" - it's a "stupidity tax." We should not accommodate stupidity - we should tax it. Sign it.

It is about time that the governor came to his senses and realized that it is his duty to protect public health by promoting the historic values that made this Country great. A governor's foremost duty is to fight against substance abuse, laziness, and sloth at every turn. Too many politicians have given in to the tobacco lobby because they are more interested in campaign contributions than they are in the health of the community.

I thought he said he wasn't going to raise taxes on anything.

Your word is your bond, Governor. If you weren't planning on raising taxes, you shouldn't have run on that platform.

Shame on you.

This is not a discriminatory tax: everybody who makes the choice to smoke is treated exactly the same, regardless of age, sex, race, or religion. This law is no more discriminatory that laws stating that all convicted murderers will be incarcerated in prison for life, while non-murderers will not.

I don't smoke and I don't think it's a good idea keep raising the so called "sin taxes". Lets add 10% to soda. That effects us all and would raise more money in the long run. Ten percent is not that much since soda is cheep, and who knows maybe we would cut down on drinking soda, and save our waist lines.

Well...since having many children is stupid (but prevelent)if you can't afford them and isn't good for the environment or for conservation of natural resources...then why don't we put a tax on them, too!