The New York Times calls tobacco companies “shameless” for not lying down and allowing themselves to be looted by the state of Oregon. The companies campaigned against, and successfully defeated on Tuesday, a referendum that would have targeted their product with an 85-cent tax increase per pack to pay for a program to insure more children.

Would the New York Times object if Oregon tried to put the whole cost of the program on their backs, with a 25 cent tax on every newspaper sold in the state?

Update from a reader:

Well, with the way the NYT’s circulation is going, that’d insure about 6 more children.

Ah, but how could you deprive those six children of health insurance? Big Newspaper is just shameless.