Read Them and Weep
The following letters were written to Visa and Mastercard by a personal friend of mine who has been purchasing tobacco on line for several years. As you read his letters and the responses he received, please keep in mind the following;
Tobacco use is legal.
Sales tax on other products are ignored.
My friend lives in the state of Washington.
On line purchases of products is legal, including tobacco.
The states and cities chose to raise taxes on tobacco as a means of social control.
In a consumer driven economy, the customer retains the right to chose who, where and how to make private purchases for their own personal use. States have forgotten that the residents of their state are in fact their customers.
They have chosen to squander the billions they receive each year under the Master Tobacco Settlement reached with the tobacco companies.
States and cities have chosen to tax certain products in a well thought out effort to price those products far beyond what the market is willing to pay.
They have chosen to apply pressure on the Attorney Generals of their states, equally dependant on tax revenues, whining about their losses in tax monies. Law enforcement in turn is more than willing to apply pressure on Visa and Mastercard, neither of which would like to tangle with law enforcement, I'm sure.
There has been a lot of talk over the last few years about the coarsening of society. It is, as a matter of fact, a favorite subject on The Fox News Channel while numerous liberal commentators and politicos pine for the gentler days when people had a "sense of community", respect for the law, etc. etc. etc.
As a smoker, old enough to remember the times before the anti-smoking campaign, it is my personal opinion that one of the major forces responsible for the incredible loss of respect for law enforcement and the growing intolerance directed against anyone who dares to live outside the guidelines of "socially approved" profiles, can be laid at the feet of the on-going hate campaign directed against smokers, backed by those politicians who believe in the rule of democracy as opposed to the defense of individual rights.
Remember, a democracy is 51% of the voters deciding how all of us must live. A republic defends the right of each individual to chose how to live their life as long as they harm no others.
| 
