I talked about this on Saturday, but there's one other key component of Rep. Tom Graves's argument that makes little sense to me ...

Some believe that state revenues must increase to stimulate the economy. Some suggest we stimulate the economy by increasing government spending and regulating businesses to ensure a stable marketplace. Others maintain that raising taxes during tough economic times would bring in revenues needed to maintain a stable government. All these beliefs lead to one overarching philosophy of utopian socialism, an economic system based on equal outcomes, not equal opportunity. These "solutions" all lead to a government takeover of private businesses and government control over the free-market system.

Actually, I don't recall anyone saying we need to raise taxes to stimulate the economy. The foolishness regarding 'utopian socialism' aside, the argument surrounding increasing revenues has been connected to the state's budget shortfalls. The proposals are designed to fill the massive fiscal hole that's resulting in service cuts, furloughs and hiring freezes, not to expand services.

Graves's bill is not a bad proposal, and it has the potential to do some good. However, he's just making up some mythical opposition for the sake of holding a non-existent argument. There's no logical reason why a job creation tax credit couldn't be passed at the same time a $1 per pack increase on the cigarette tax is implemented. The former has the potential to spur private sector growth, while the latter would provide an influx of much-needed revenue for existing public services.