A clear majority of Kentuckians favor raising the state's cigarette tax as much as $1 a pack if some of the proceeds will go to help people stop smoking and improve health care, according to a poll a group of health advocates released yesterday.
About 69 percent of the respondents said they would favor a $1 increase in Kentucky's 30-cent-per-pack tax, which is among the nation's lowest. A similar majority said they would favor a 70-cent increase proposed by Gov. Steve Beshear.
And a majority indicated that either they would be more likely to support a lawmaker who voted for such an increase, or that it wouldn't affect their support.
Even the Enquirer's Dennis Hetzel -- hardly a liberal -- says that the Republicans need to back off of their strict anti-tax zealotry:
As the Kentucky Legislature wrestles with a huge budget deficit, it’s important that groups are organizing to make sure public school funding is kept as whole as possible.
Gov. Steve Beshear’s proposal attempts to do that, but it already seems dead on arrival, particularly among Republican leaders who take an absolutist position – no tax increases of any kind for any reason.
...I think this is pig-headed.
