By Maxine Shapiro, KERA 90.1 business commentator
Dallas, TX – A new story is unfolding between Philip Morris and the state governments. There is now a surprising twist in the tale. I'm Maxine Shapiro with KERA Marketplace Midday.
Once upon a time, the mean and wicked tobacco companies that produce the mean and wicked cigarettes used advertising as a way to lure the poor incident consumers to use its product. The poor innocent consumers were getting addicted to the mean and wicked cigarette. Worse, they were getting sick and in many cases dying from that nasty tobacco. Children were even being targeted. But the consumer was so weak and small. How could they stand up to the mean and wicked tobacco companies who led the innocent consumer astray? Aren't they unconquerable? Da-ta-da, to the rescue - the states in which the poor and innocent consumers reside.
It's 1996 and the state of Washington begins the battle with the biggest and toughest cigarette companies in the country. And justice prevails. The state receives hundreds of millions of dollars to be shared by the poor and innocent victims in Washington. The victory was heard across the land and state Attorney Generals everywhere followed the pursuit of money.
And oh, how righteous the states became. These settlement dollars would be used be used to cover the cost of public health and inform all citizens of evils of smoking. "But wait, there is no restriction on how we spend the settlement money," said the states. And as years passed, the states became addicted to the money it was receiving from the mean and wicked tobacco companies. But last week, the big, bad state of Illinois won a case that just might break Joe Camel's back. And now Philip Morris doesn't know if it has the money to give the states its annual fix. $2.5 billion is what they were expecting. "We need this money," cries the deficit stricken states. "Bonds have been planned to be issued with this money. Why, we've even spent some of it already - we need it!"
So now the states willfully and proudly are forced to come to the rescue of Philip Morris - a mean and wicked tobacco company. One moral of the story, an addiction, is an addiction, is an addiction! For KERA Marketplace Midday, I'm Maxine Shapiro.
Marketplace Midday Reports air on KERA 90.1 Monday - Friday at 1:04 p.m. To contact Maxine Shapiro, please send emails to mshapiro@kera.org.
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