Obama Kills Another Small Business / Industry

Yes, I am one of those neanderthal throwbacks who still smokes. I am also a proud redneck / hillbilly in most connotations of the phrase. As such, I have been rollin' my own since I was able to find somethin' to twist up. I save a substantial amount of cash in the process, and I also avoid the chemical additives that is found in large quantities in over the counter smokes.

Say what you will about this PERFECTLY LEGAL habit, but let's see if we can't allow some leeway to those of us who find ways not just to survive; but to thrive while living partially off the grid.

I get really fired up when Obuma and crew...including his cronies in Big Tobacco...find yet another way to stuff their greedy hands further into my pocket!

A tiny amendment buried in the federal transportation bill to be signed today by President Barack Obama will put operators of roll-your-own cigarette operations in Las Vegas and nationwide out of business at midnight.

Robert Weissen, with his brothers and other partners, own nine Sin City Cigarette Factory locations in Southern Nevada, including six in Las Vegas, and one in Hawaii. He said when the bill is signed their only choice is to turn off their 20 RYO Filling Station machines and lay off more than 40 employees.

"We'll stay open for about another week to sell tubes and tobacco just to get through our inventory, but without the use of the RYO machines, we won't be staying open," he said.

The machines are used by customers who buy loose tobacco and paper tubes from the shop and then turn out a carton of finished cigarettes in as little as 10 minutes, often varying the blend to suit their taste. Savings are substantial - at $23 per carton, half the cost of a name-brand smoke - in part because loose tobacco is taxed at a lower rate.

"These cigarettes are different because there are benefits in saving money and in how they make you feel," said Amy Hinds, a partner who operates the Sin City Cigarette Factory at Craig and Decatur.

"These cigarettes don't have any of the chemicals in them, and the papers are chemical-free, unlike the cartons people buy from Philip Morris."

But a few paragraphs added to the transportation bill changed the definition of a cigarette manufacturer to cover thousands of roll-your-own operations nationwide. The move, backed by major tobacco companies, is aimed at boosting tax revenues.

Faced with regulation costs that could run to hundreds of thousands of dollars, RYO machine owners nationwide are shutting down more than 1,000 of the $36,000 machines.

"I feel it's kind of shaky,'' Wiessen said. "The man who pushed for this bill is Sen. (Max) Baucus from Montana, and he received donations from Altria, a parent company of Philip Morris. Interestingly enough, there are also no RYO machines in the state of Montana. It really makes me question the morals and values of our elected speakers."...(snip)

For smokers who bargained on roll-your-own cigarette stores for cheap smokes, it looks like those days are numbered.

On Friday, President Barack Obama is expected to sign into law a federal highway bill with a section that redefines tobacco manufacturers to include any business with a roll-your-own cigarette machine and taxes those products at the same rate as packaged smokes.

“It’s quite clear that this is politicians and big tobacco working against small businesses,” entrepreneur Marcia Smith said.

“They’re basically making us follow the same regulations as big tobacco,” Noel Valenti said, “But [we can’t] reap the same rewards.”

So, the Federal government passes this bill which effectively puts small roll-your-own tobacco shops out of business for the express purpose of bringing business back to large tobacco companies. Big Tobacco in turn, pays more taxes back to the Federal Government and donates big money to the political campaigns of both Republicans and Democrats, including (Ding! Ding! You guessed it!) Barack Obama and Max Baucus. For the record, George W. Bush vetoed similar legislation repeatedly.

This is crony capitalism at its worst.

Here are my sentiments on the matter (and those of another great patriot from Ohio)!

Read more at Cafe Mom and

 Poor Richard's News

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