Joan Beck’s Jan. 23 column, “A terminal case of wishful thinking in Clinton health plan,” is right on target. She might want to elaborate upon one point in a future column.
Beck correctly points out that the proposed 75-cent cigarette tax increase will not pay for health care reform; however, a $2- to $3-per-pack tax, a large alcohol tax and Sen. Moynihan’s bullet or ammunition tax would pay for those changes necessary to rectify the major problems with our current health care system.
However, it appears that the president and Congress have sacrificed any semblance of fiscal viability to meaningful health care reform by succumbing to the pressure of the gun, alcohol and tobacco lobbies. It would be most informative if the Tribune published the amount of money each member of Congress received from these three enormously powerful and influential groups.
