Obama said it’s “pretty sensible” for women in the 40 states where the items are taxed as luxury items to work on getting that changed. “I’m not that superstitious, so it’s not like I think I necessarily have to have them on me at all times”, he said.
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Despite his parting excuse at December’s end-of-the-year press conference – “OK, everybody, I got to get to “Star Wars” ” – Obama admitted Friday he hasn’t seen the billion-dollar picture yet. Asked to choose which he’d be, Obama picked Han Solo – “a little bit of a rebel”.
Congrats, Ingrid. You managed to do something most White House reporters can only dream of: Stump the president.
One area where Obama remains keyed-in: pop music.
Next, Thorne, who describes himself as a “vlogger/time traveler/professional cuddler/professional gamer” and whose YouTube channel has more than 3.7 million subscribers, asked Obama who was the better rapper – Drake or Kendrick Lamar?
That seems wrong, Nilsen said, since she doesn’t “know anyone who has a period that thinks it’s a luxury”.
“I want to know why do these items continued to be taxed?”
Nilsen pointed out that 40 states require people to pay sales tax on feminine hygiene products, even though states often allow exemptions for “necessities”.
But does the US impose a tax specific to tampons or consider them to be luxury goods? “I suspect it’s because men were making the laws when those taxes were passed”, he said.
Obama said he was unaware of that particular situation but told Nilsen it illustrates a basic tenet of his health care law: women shouldn’t be disadvantaged by the health care system.
When prompted, Obama reached into his trousers pocket and pulled out quite a collection: rosary beads from Pope Francis, a tiny Buddha, a metal poker chip, a Coptic cross from Ethiopia and a Hindu statuette of the monkey god Hanuman.
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President Barack Obama said Friday he had “no idea” why many states tax tampons and menstrual pads as “luxury items”. “I would want it to be a catalyst but one that didn’t get too hot or too cold”.
