In typical democrat fashion, the answer to everything that isn't working is to throw more money at it and hope the problem goes away for a little while longer. Of course, if you don't have enough money to throw at it to quiet the problem, then you need to raise more money from other sources... And in another act of irresponsibility, the democrats are trying to do exactly what you would expect them to do... Punish the rest of us who simply try to enjoy life as best we can.

Yes folks the democrats are looking for ways to further fund the SCHIP (state children's health insurance program) disaster. The program, although good in intention, failed miserably in practice. Why? Because the democratshave been feverishly working to expand the entitlement programs to encompass as many people as they can, and now they're running out of money for these programs. Whereas the SCHIP program sounds like something that would benefit children, the truth of the matter is that there are more capable adults on the program than children.

What's worse is that the democrats are trying to expand it even further, which is why they're looking for more money this year. Just haw far are they willing to push the entitlement issue? Well, they're seeking to expand SCHIP eligibility to 400% of the FPL (federal poverty level) which means that a family of four with a household income of $80,000 a year would receive SCHIP subsidies. Last time I checked, $80,000 a year is hardly poverty level.

Here are some charts to make you feel ill (click for full size):

The situation is simply getting worse from a number of perspectives. The biggest issue is the expansion of the entitlement culture and the cultivation of more and more people who are dependent on government programs.

The second issue, and one that I take very personally, is that programs like this need money, and the damned democrats are turning to life's little luxuries to fund them. This is the sort of thing we have come to expect from democrats: the rest of us have to lower our standard of living so that others can live off of the government dole (and supposedly enjoy a higher standard of living).

But I digress. The democrat's plan calls for a new tobacco tax to fund the expanding SCHIP program. The new tobacco tax is aimed at raising an additional $35 Billion in revenue to fund SCHIP.

Of course, the dems obviously didn't do their homework on this one, since it can be assumed that this steep tax will drive the number of new smokers down even further, and it is estimated that to achieve these numbers, they will need another 22 million new smokers by 2017. The democrats also failed to realize that the people they would be harming would be the very people they're aiming to save considering more than half of the smoking population falls below the 200% FPL line. So an increase in taxes at this level would have harsh economic impacts on the people already having the hardest time.

But that isn't what really makes me mad. It gets me upset, but what really boils my blood is the democrat's attack on cigars, which is presumably an attack on people who enjoy life's little luxuries. The democrats are trying to raise the tax rate on cigars to 53.1% which also includes a 20,400% increase on the cap. This would make a cigar the single largest excise taxed item in the IRS code by many times. Right now cigars enjoy a 4.8 cent per cigar tax cap. The new tax cap would be $10 per cigar.

What makes this difficult is that the dems are hiding behind children in order to levy this tax. As one cigar roller in Tampa puts it:

"How do you oppose a sin tax Congress has rigged to help sick kids?"

In an argument about the fact that it's unfair to overtax something people enjoy as opposed to something people are addicted to (i.e. cigarettes), he hits it right on the head.

"A good wine. A good scotch. A good bourbon. A good cigar. It all enhances the quality of life. We're in the relaxation business."

That's exactly it, and it's also exactly why the democrats are going after cigars. The "Well off" shouldn't be allowed to relax and enjoy life as long as there are "less fortunate" people out there... Or at least that's the message we're getting from today's democratic party.

I have seen the democrats do some ridiculously unfair things, but this one certainly takes the cake. This is an assault - a 20,000% tax increase assault - on a person's ability to take time out of their week and enjoy an hour or so.

For another great post on this, check out Wake Up America

For more information on SCHIP, check out:

The Phantom Economic Benefits of SCHIP Expansion

22 Million New Smokers Needed: Funding SCHIP Expansion with a Tobacco Tax

Expanding SCHIP into AMT Territory: SCHIP Plan Would Extend Welfare to Wealthy Families

SCHIP Reauthorization: Congress Should Beware of Creating a New Entitlement

The State Children's Health Insurance Program: High Stakes for American Families

Children's Health: SCHIP Should Not Become a Welfare Entitlement

The Future of SCHIP: Family Freedom or Government Control?

The Truth About SCHIP Shortfalls