Where is Sarah Palin?
Chicago leads the nation in sales tax, and if you live in Alaska, Delaware, Montana, or Oregon; I need to explain what sales tax means. That’s when you purchase an item that has a sticker price on it for, let’s say $2.99 cents, take it to the register, get it ringed up, and then end up paying $3.65 cents for it. Outside of the aforementioned states listed above, every other state including the District of Columbia has on of these called a sales tax. So to everybody else, I guess i’m preaching to the choir. It is not that I’m opposed to sales taxes, state or federal taxes, or any type of tax. It is necessary nag that has been here since human beings began to organize and start governments, which has been basically since the beginning of time. As the saying goes, “the two things that are certain are death and taxes.” So i’m not going to complain about something that has been here forever.
“Poor People’s Tax” 
No what has me pissed is that the belief that this new tax increase is specifically targeting poor people. There is an alcohol tax that increases the fee on wholesale liquor form six cents to nine cents. There is also a tobacco tax that increases the fee on snuff and loose tobacco. Twenty-five cents for big cigars, five cents on smaller ones, along with a thirty cents increase on smokeless and loose tobacco. Mind you, this is just not change you find inside your couch. For example, when I went to the store to purchase my Swisher Sweets Cigars, cigars that usually runs two for a dollar, I found out the price had risen to dollar and fifty cents for two, and that was cheap, in some places they were as high as two dollars and fifteen cents. If you smoke on a daily basis like I do, then maybe you can understand the ramifications of this tax increase. I am aware that most financial scenarios that involves citizens to pay more instead of less is going to affect poor people more, but this is a direct hit on the ghetto. Because when I speak on this matter, i’m also considering the people standing in front of the store asking for some spare change, the people at the gas station selling loose cigarettes, also the working stiff, who needs a drink or a blunt after a long day at the gig. These are the people I see on a daily basis, and these are the people i’m referring to. It was already hard before the tax increase, and i’m afraid to say it’s probably going to get worse. At least one lawmaker seemed to agree with my observations and analysis, he correctly categorized this tax increase for what it is, “a poor people tax”
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