Puff! The magic cigarette tax

In his indispensable book which shares the same name as this blog [1], Jonathan Chait writes of how the foundational Republican rhetoric on taxes and revenues resembles nothing so much as the New Testament's miracle of the loaves and fishes, with one important difference: there ain't gonna be any miracle. As John explained in a recent New York Times [2] op-ed, every Republican presidential candidate subscribes to the same magical thinking: just cut taxes, any taxes—and revenues will shoot through the roof! Because, to be a modern-day Republican, you have to subscribe to this single article of faith: taxes can't work. Taxes don't ever work.

Well, via reader JRB, here's a nifty new innovation in the theory from John McCain. Of SCHIP, the Des Moines Register [3] reports, "He said he opposes plans to pay for the expansion by increasing the
cigarette tax, saying that would encourage more smoking because, in
the past, tobacco tax money has not been spent on prevention programs
as promised."

To which, the Register dryly responds: "In Iowa, cigarette sales have dropped 30 percent in the last three
months, following an $1-per-pack tax increase implemented in Iowa in
March."