Apparently my post from yesterday didn't make it. Which, while frustrating is not the end of the world. It had a great link I might use later though.

I was planning to avoid discussing news on this blog, but my resolve didn't last very long. And I suppose this post is going to push me from opinionated into activist.

Just the other day I read that congress is planning a buyout of tobacco quotas. I don’t know all the ins and outs, but apparently farmers have to lease the right to fill a quota from a private party. Since quotas have been going down in recent years, the price to lease them has been going up.

Congress wants the tobacco industry to fund the buyout by paying a certain percentage based on their market share. That has led the tobacco companies to state they will almost certainly pass the price along to consumers. Now some lawmakers are saying this isn’t fair to consumers who are already struggling with high cigarette prices.

And to all of this I say, Pass the Price Along. I don’t want the farmers to suffer, but cigarette smoking is not one of our inalienable rights. And consumers have to realize that big tobacco does not care about them. They aren’t going to shoulder the costs so their faithful (read: addicted) followers can keep on puffing.

And while I am on this topic, kudos to Boston and New York.