Guess I should have checked before relying on my memory which, let's face it, it stuck in the past. ;)

Every time they raise the cigarette tax here, it creates a new boom in smuggling which, of course, leads to other more violent crime. They make it illegal to display cigarettes in stores, advertise them in papers and on TV, smoke them just about anywhere that isn't your own home and they raise the tax on them. They always stop short of banning them though. Maybe they're afraid of creating another prohibition scenario (but I doubt that's really the reason).

>NC lost the majority of its textile industries years ago. They were moved overseas. There was a huge economic downsurge at the time. While the tobacco has not moved overseas, it has been downsized over the past 10 years to a very small industry in comparison. There are very few tobacco farms here these days. Most have switched due to government incentives financed by the tobacco industry (part of the huge lawsuit and health initiatives).
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>NC used to be one of the last states to have a low cigarette tax. Not now, the Gov has just proposed a plan to make it one of the highest in the nation in order to raise the income level of teachers in this state. Same with alcohol. Wonder what they will do when everyone finally stops smoking? Interesting that they think it is okay to finance education via a percentage of the population and not the majority. I doubt only smokers will be allowed to use the public school system. They used to raise the gas tax - that wouldn't fly today.
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>>Interesting. I'd have thought with NC's large textile and tobacco industries that there would have been an upswing in supplies of that type. Go figure.
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>>>True, but not here locally. We didn't have an increase in manufacturing at all - we had a decrease in fact.
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>>>>>The Fayetteville metro area ranks fourth in the U.S. for per capita income growth from 2001 to 2006. Fayetteville’s metro area — defined as Cumberland and Hoke counties — saw personal income jump 37 percent from 2001 to 2006, the most recent year available in the data. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could be behind the jumps in income, according to experts. Combat pay and re-enlistment bonuses for professional soldiers, combined with the activation of National Guard and Reserve units, put more money in the bank accounts of personnel shipping out of Fort Bragg, said David G. Lenze of the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, which issued the income data.
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>>>>>http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=293810
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>>>>>This is not companies making war profits, this is personal income. Not hard to imagine when re-enlistment bonuses are around 30,000.00 right no (for the hard-to-keep jobs or jobs that are difficult to maintain troop levels in the military). A friend of mine is a vehicle mechanic and just got 30,000.00 to re-enlist. They used the money for a down-payment on a house.
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>>>>Don't forget too that war gives rise to a lot of new manufacturing - much of which is dead end products (ammo, vehicles etc) that have to keep being remanufactured as they are 'used up'. That creates jobs and new or enhanced income.