Absurd to Spend Taxes on Tobacco
Home Up

 

by Ross Nordeen

[This letter appeared in Florida Today on July 21, 1996]

[Essays Page Editor's Note: This letter was published in response to George Thompson's column on methods of dealing with tobacco and its problems.]

George,

You listed several ideas on how to deal with tobacco companies. However, you missed one idea that would require no new laws and would actually save the taxpayers money:

We should simply end all price supports, low-interest loans, and other federal programs for tobacco farmers. It is absurd that we are spending millions of dollars a year to aid farmers who produce a worthless product.

The wastefulness of the federal government's tobacco programs, past and present, are well-documented in James Bovard's excellent book, The Farm Fiasco.

 

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