Governor: Smoking ban a ‘stroke of genius’
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The smoking ban that takes effect in Virginia restaurants today resulted from “an accidental stroke of genius” on his part, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said Monday.
The General Assembly approved the ban on smoking in most restaurants after several key legislators had voted against a Kaine-proposed tax on cigarettes last winter.
The tax proposal itself was just a political maneuver, Kaine told The News & Advance’s editorial board Monday. He never expected it would lead to the smoking ban he had been asking the Assembly to approve, he said.
“There was some ‘strategery’ involved in that one,” Kaine said of the tax proposal, invoking a memorable line from a “Saturday Night Live” skit.
Kaine was drafting a state budget in December 2008 that faced a $400 million hole in Medicaid funding. He proposed a 60-cents-a-pack tax on cigarettes to cover $150 million of the shortfall.
“I knew the House (of Delegates) would not vote for it,” Kaine said.
But he also knew, “from working with the incoming Obama administration, that they were going to do a stimulus bill that was going to have Medicaid money. And I knew it was going to pass,” Kaine said.
“But I couldn’t put that into my budget, because it hadn’t passed yet.
“So what was the better thing to do? If I had just announced a ton of Medicaid cuts, I would have made every senior frightened and every low-income person frightened, and then three months later the stimulus passes.
“The legislature puts all the money back in and they say, ‘Hey, we saved you from these horrible cuts the governor was going to make.’
“So I decided what I would do is, I would not make those cuts. Instead, I would propose a cigarette tax.
“It kept me from having to make cuts,” Kaine said.
After the U.S. Congress approved Obama’s $787 billion stimulus bill on Feb. 12, Virginia legislators used part of the state’s share to plug the Medicaid shortfall.
“I didn’t have to terrorize seniors with Medicaid cuts that were not going to be made, and I got one other additional benefit that I didn’t think about,” which was the smoking ban he had proposed, Kaine said.
“By putting the cigarette tax on the table too, I gave every legislator one way to make Philip Morris happy, by voting against the cigarette tax,” Kaine said.
Tobacco giant Philip Morris, based in Richmond, is one of the state’s most influential lobbyists and campaign contributors.
“A lot of guys (legislators) voted against the cigarette tax and then they voted for the smoking ban, which I hadn’t had before,” Kaine said.
“So that one was an accidental stroke of genius,” said Kaine, whose four-year term ends Jan. 16.
The cigarette tax proposal probably won’t emerge again this year, Kaine said, although Virginia’s budget is facing a $3.6 billion gap between current expenses and the revenues anticipated in the next two years.
A cigarette tax wouldn’t generate enough revenue to help much with the shortfall, even if the tax were to be approved, Kaine said.
Reader Reactions
And the only ones worse than the tobacco and coca farmers are the sugar cane growers all over Louisiana and South America.
A million dead every year from sugar diabetes, and STILL they keep pushing their deadly high-calorie product, especially to children. Not to mention death from obesity, tooth decay, etc from the side effects of this poison!
Where’s the outrage?
The only difference between a tobacco farmer on the southside and a coca grower or opium poppy grower is that the tobacco farmer has killed a lot more people and cost a lot more money. They are despicable and prey upon those they have hooked on their evil weed. Good job governor, keep it up.
Only a politician would place a tax on something to support something else. And at the same time, trying to eliminate the very thing he just raised the tax on. What is the next idea when tobacco sales bottom out and there is no more money coming from the increased tax? Increase the tax on alcohol.
Hey Gibson.. who lost power because of these stunts? Answer: Republicans.
Who is doing everything the Republicans were doing but only on a grander scale?
Hint: control both federal legislative branches as well as the Whitehouse.
Tim Kaine has got to be the most obnoxious, self-serving, totally-politically-motivated PRAT to ever hold this office. Well, next to Jim Gilmore, who was a similar type of slimy, oily politician. “Look what I did, Look what I did”.
What he DID was assure that the opposite party would be in power in the state for the next 4 years, as people get sick of his antics.
Man, I’m glad he’ll be gone soon.
Good news.. MOST people don’t smoke. A minority have been forcing the majority to put up with and be affected by a bad smelly stupid habit. One that kills people. Every non-smoking wait-person, cook and restaurant worker will literally be breathing a sigh of relief.
Critics say this will cut business to bars and restaurant. Not so, cities that have banned smoking in public places have seen increases in many businesses because most people don’t smoke, and many people who don’t smoke avoid establishments without well ventilated non-smoking area’s. Other critics claim this is a slam on personal freedom, but since when does being free give someone the right to inflict fatal illness on others.
...“Oh wait.. I forgot the solution is to print it ourselves or borrow it from China….“
It always works for the GOP.
I for one am very happy to see the smoking ban go into effect today. YAY! Lung cancer has been in my family, a direct result of smoking cigarettes. Maybe, just maybe, this ban will encourage some folks to quit smoking altogether. Let’s hope so.
So Governor Kaine admits that there was an existing HUGE budget gap with Medicare that he planned to be filled with bailout funds.
So the next governor will have to find a way to fill this gap is no bailout occurs?
Our government has increased spending on the backs of SEVERAL economic bubbles for the last 14 years. Now that these economic bubbles have popped shouldn’t the government bubble go down as well?
Oh wait.. I forgot the solution is to print it ourselves or borrow it from China.
Thank you Governor Kaine. This smoking ban is the best thing that I can remember happening. Now we can finally start going to some restaurants that we have tried before but could not go back to because of having to breathe the tobacco poison in huge doses. In the long run these formerly smoking restaurants will do more business. People should have the right to breathe smoke in their lungs if they want to (as crazy as that sounds). I just don’t think that I should be forced to breathe it in with them when I am eating in a public restaurant. I have not spoken with one waitperson who does not support the ban. Ahhh, smoke free! Thanks again!
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