Inflation Resistance Revisited

PROMISES, PROMISES: Obama tax pledge up in smoke

He repeatedly vowed "you will not see any of your taxes increase one single dime."

Now in office, Obama, who stopped smoking but has admitted he slips now and then, signed a law raising the tobacco tax nearly 62 cents on a pack of cigarettes, to $1.01. Other tobacco products saw similarly steep increases.

Obama did keep his promise. It was not one single dime, it was much closer to six dimes.

Fortunately, I don't smoke. I did point out this though.

March 3, 2009
Inflation Resistance As Seen Through the Eyes of a Hoarder

If you smoke, hoard cigarettes. Hoard toilet paper and facial tissue. Hoard beauty and medical products. Hoard preserves. Hoard canned goods. Hoard medications. If you smoke, hoard even more cigarettes. That's what I see when I look at the list.

You will note that cigarettes made the list twice. That's no coincidence.

March 5, 2009
Crappiest Advice Ever

Apparently the cost of their confusion wasn't so enormous after all. That money was better spent on beer and cigarettes, especially if those items were saved/hoarded as part of a diversified nest egg.

As seen below, some cigarette hoarders just made an 18% return on investment. They aren't any better off of course, but they did manage to fend off a standard of living reduction for at least a few years.

April 1, 2009
Smokers feeling abused as federal tax hike hits

Thanks in part to the largest-ever federal cigarette tax increase -- a nearly 62-cents-a-pack hike that starts Wednesday but was reflected in many prices earlier -- Jukes on Tuesday paid more than $58 for a 10-pack carton at the Cigarette Store in Denver, Colorado.

That same store was selling it about $9 cheaper weeks ago. Jukes and other shoppers there said they feel stuck and taken advantage of.

$49 to $58 is an 18% increase.

Sin taxes are the easiest to implement since the government can rationalize it as a good thing. Smoking kills. Alcohol kills. Ammunition kills. We've seen the smoking tax. A betting man might favor the odds of future alcohol and ammunition taxes.

While a complete ban on handguns is not politically practicable, I believe reasonable restrictions on the sale and possession of handguns are necessary to protect the public safety. - Obama, 2003

March 21, 2009
Md. alcohol tax may quadruple

"It's time we raise the tax and help people live," he said.

Increased taxes will help us live better? Fantastic. We'll all be living like kings someday. Good to know!

I'm not a big drinker by any stretch of the imagination, but I do have 5 cases of Mike's Hard Lemonade on hand. That should easily last me a few years. I expect it to be a decent/sinful investment. That being said, I could be wrong of course.

Prohibition in the United States

Prohibition became increasingly unpopular during the Great Depression, especially in large cities.

Politicians might soon be handing it out like candy. Who knows!