70°F
weather icon Mostly Clear

Lose the ‘tobacco cessation program’? Oh my!

To the editor:

Ever since reading Nancy York’s Sunday letter, “The horror of cuts,” I have been consumed with the horrific vision of tens of thousands of men, women and children running into the streets in search of a nicotine fix as soon as the funding for the “Nevada tobacco prevention and cessation program” is eliminated.

Add to that the “tremendous job losses” that will result and it’s a wonder that I can even sleep at night.

Thankfully, Ms. York has not only brought attention to this impending doom, she has also discovered a solution for our state’s budget woes. By her calculations, raising the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1 per pack well generate $78.8 million in additional revenue and save an additional $460.3 million in health care costs.

But why stop there? If we raise the tax to $2 per pack, we could completely eliminate the state budget deficit, our legislators could cancel their special session and everything will be right with the world.

Then we can move on to other so called “burdens” on our society, such as obesity.

With new taxes on doughnuts and fast food, we will be swimming in money in no time at all.

Alas, I can sleep soundly tonight with the knowledge that brilliant minds are hard at work looking out for the best interests of us lowly and gullible taxpayers.

Bill Edwards

LAS VEGAS

Eye on the prize

To the editor:

Fellow Tea Party people, don’t lose sight of the real goal: dumping Sen. Harry Reid.

In the Republican primary, vote for the candidate most likely to defeat Sen. Reid. Vote for the Republican in the general election. Save the conservative in-fighting for next year.

Dave Fair

LAS VEGAS

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
MORE STORIES
THE LATEST
LETTER: Jacky Rosen, drug prices and inflation

I don’t believe she has malicious intentions, but at the very least she’s been thoughtless when considering the ramifications of how the overwhelming majority of her votes affect the very people who elected her.

LETTER: Fair share?

Politicians use “the rich” to divert attention from their reckless spending.

EDITORIAL: Biden foreign policy leaves a void on world stage

The world was a relatively stable place when Donald Trump left office in 2021. Since then, the Biden White House has signaled repeatedly to our enemies that there is little consequence for international misbehavior.