North Dakota Young Republican

Says No On Measure 4

I am an active member of the North Dakota Young Republicans, and as a member of the younger generation I feel it’s necessary to voice my opinion on Measure 4.

In the case of Measure 4, I believe many liberals and conservatives — young and older — agree: this measure is flawed in many ways and I support voting NO in November.

If you read the measure language — and I have— you’ll understand my concerns. It is nine pages long, includes lots of fine print, mandates, regulations and dozens of complicated changes to North Dakota law. To make matters worse, there are only four sentences describing what types of programs the funds would be used for. And there are no specifics in those four sentences. We don’t believe this type of taxing plan is good for North Dakota.

It seems like proponents of Measure 4 want us to believe this is a mechanism to help people who are tobacco users stop, and to decrease the number of young people starting … all because of a 400 percent tax increase. I believe this has more to do with raising new taxes to fund special projects overseen by government appointees, many of whom may benefit from the new tax spending plans they develop.

I found some interesting facts about efforts being made in North Dakota to help people quit smoking. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has recognized North Dakota as the number one state in the country for allocating money to tobacco prevention. Right now the state’s Tobacco Prevention and Control Committee has a $55 million surplus to spend on anti-tobacco programs, therefore we don’t see any need for this huge tax increase.

To be clear, as a young North Dakotan and Young Republican, I support a NO vote on Measure 4 and strongly urge other young North Dakotans to exercise their right to vote November 8.

By signing below, I attest that these are my personal views and comments concerning Measure 4 in North Dakota.

Jamal Omar