Made to be broken

Such are campaign promises. Especially Obama's. The AP takes him to task for the new tobacco tax that went into effect today.

One of President Barack Obama's campaign pledges on taxes went up in puffs of smoke Wednesday.

The largest increase in tobacco taxes took effect despite Obama's promise not to raise taxes of any kind on families earning under $250,000 or individuals under $200,000.

This is one tax that disproportionately affects the poor, who are more likely to smoke than the rich.

To be sure, Obama's tax promises in last year's campaign were most often made in the context of income taxes. Not always.

"I can make a firm pledge," he said in Dover, N.H., on Sept. 12. "Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes."

He repeatedly vowed "you will not see any of your taxes increase one single dime."

Now in office, Obama, who stopped smoking but has admitted he slips now and then, signed a law raising the tobacco tax nearly 62 cents on a pack of cigarettes, to $1.01. Other tobacco products saw similarly steep increases.

[snip]

Government and private research has found that smoking rates are higher among people of low income.

A Gallup survey of 75,000 people last year fleshed out that conclusion. It found that 34 percent of respondents earning $6,000 to $12,000 were smokers, and the smoking rate consistently declined among people of higher income. Only 13 percent of people earning $90,000 or more were smokers.

Let's do a little math. For a two-pack-a-day smoker, 62 cents a pack works out to $8.68 a week. Obama's much touted tax cut, in 2010, will amount to $8.00 a week. One hand giveth, the other taketh away. No new taxes on the poor? He didn't mean the evil smoking poor. Next week, he won't mean the overweight poor, or the fast-food eating poor....or any of the rest of us.

So, Obamabots....are you enjoying the hope and change?