The recent digressions into the ins and outs of epithets and name calling were inspired by the ire of Mr. Beagles regarding tobacco taxes, if memory serves. I did a little digging and all I could find was a federal excise tax increase in early 2009, from $.39 to $1.01 per pack of cigarettes. Is this correct and what was referred to?
Assuming so, Mr. Beagles also mentioned that Michigan "already had one of the highest cigarette taxes in the nation" and, at $2.00/pack, he may be correct but Illinois isn't far behind at $1.98/pack. But according to the figures I've found (2015),the average price for a pack of smokes in Michigan is $8.00 and the average price in Illinois is $11.50. Quite a difference, as we are also clobbered by county and city taxes. As a matter of fact, Chicago has the highest taxation for cigarettes in the nation, with the combined state and local taxes adding up to $6.16/pack. I think the city had a tax raise at the new year, maybe it was the county or state, but it's higher now. And yet we prevail, without any name calling (so far). The federal taxes are the least of all the taxes, as near as I can tell.
One of the standard rationales for raising tobacco taxes is to discourage smoking, and maybe it works, but as they keep raising taxes they end up generating less revenue because fewer tobacco products are being sold. Anti-smoking laws are becoming more Draconian, too. I think it's illegal to smoke in a city park or on public beaches in Chicago but I'm not sure if the law is rigorously enforced.
Going back to that increase in 2009, did it spring full blown from the mind of Obama during the honeymoon period or was it some legislation that was already in process before he took office? Doesn't matter much to me now, but I'm curious.
-----
I've been giving more thought to the top crust dilemma of the loaves of Mr. Beagles. He mentioned that he uses longer baking times, but that he puts the loaves in an oven that hasn't been preheated; that's surely a factor in the longer time. Also, I seem to recall something, from somewhere, about applying a wash of egg white or butter on the tops of the loaves before baking. An experiment with mini-loaves may be in order.
To go further off topic, I've found some interesting cooking channels on YouTube, and there's a dandy recipe if you ever feel like making your own Velveeta cheese. Good cornbread recipes, too.
-----
No point in speculating on the antics at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., as any staff changes or charges/investigations involving Russian influence will either happen quickly, or not at all.
Kind of odd to see the word "treason" mentioned so frequently and about so many people, though.
No comments:
Post a Comment