Pubdate: Sat, 23 Feb 2002
Source: Daily Press (VA)
Copyright: 2002 The Daily Press
Contact:  http://www.dailypress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/585
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

AT WEEK'S END CAPSULES OF COMMENTARY ON RECENT EVENTS

Not A Good Choice

Talk about conflicting messages. There they were: a young woman and 
two young children in a van, the kids strapped safely into child 
restraints in the back seat. That's just the way it's supposed to be.

But even the best safety seats can't protect children from some 
threats. Up front, the young woman was puffing away on a cigarette. 
The van, its windows closed, was filled with smoke, smoke the young 
children were breathing -- along with the carcinogens that come with 
cigarette smoke.

Presumably this woman would not give these children a martini before 
supper. Presumably she knows that by smoking cigarettes she's 
exposing herself to increased risk of disease and premature death. 
Presumably she cares about the children.

So, parents and other caregivers, if you smoke, that's your choice. 
It's a poor choice, but the kids strapped in the back seat don't have 
a choice.

So Pay More For It

Speaking of cigarettes, they are taxed at different rates by 
different states. Virginia's tax? At 2.5 cents per pack, it's the 
lowest in the nation.

You'd think that a state legislature that was cutting education, 
cutting mental health and failing miserably to meet its citizens' 
transportation needs might be willing to look at any reasonable 
approach to raising revenue. The tax could have been increased 
tenfold and still would have been well below the national average. 
And maybe some people, put off by the higher price, would decide they 
could live without cigarettes.

Mathews Drug Test

Speaking of drugs, the Mathews County school system has decided to 
put off implementing a voluntary drug-testing program of high school 
students.

Good.

There is absolutely no doubt about the good intentions of Mathews 
officials. But the program would have given incentives to students to 
submit voluntarily to a "search" of their bodily fluids. What of 
those who didn't want to submit? Would it be because they have 
something to hide? Or because they would feel some vague discomfort 
related, perhaps, to the Fourth Amendment? Searches are not something 
to be normalized, to be acquiesced to in exchange for free parking at 
the high school.

Over So Soon?

As our legislators in Richmond have gone about the unpleasant 
business of lopping state services to deal with shortfalls in 
revenue, some of them have used a familiar justification for not 
trying instead to increase revenue by raising taxes. "A recession," 
they say, "is no time to raise taxes."

Better put a lid on that one. According to some economists, the 
recession is nearly over. One even says that when the data are in, 
the statistics will show the recession actually ended in November -- 
well before the lawmakers even showed up in Richmond for the current 
session.
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MAP posted-by: Josh