Last night Barack Obama signed a bill extending health care to children from lower and middle income families that make too much for Medicaid but can’t afford health insurance.

According to conservatives and right wing bloggers, the extension for the S-CHIP bill will be paid for by taxing the hail out of lower income cigarette smokers to the tune of $1.01 tacked on to the cost of the pack.

They argue that the resulting tax increase would affect the working poor the hardest since there are more poor smokers than wealthy smokers. And they say this bill contradicts Obama’s campaign promise not to raise taxes on the poor.

Personally, I think O did the right thing in signing that bill. I grew up in London where health care was 100% free for everyone.

No child should witness her parents worrying about paying medical bills. America is still far behind other countries in terms of free access to health care for the people who need it the most.

This extension is a good first step toward making free health care a reality.