[Jotapay]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('aldente', 'R')orschach is a city in Switzerland. Has the author been inspired by the lake view?

[Munqi]

Something has to be taxed, so out of all the things in the world, why not alcohol?

Its a good idea and i hope they do it.

[Plantagenet]

Beer is a food.

Raising taxes on food in the middle of a recession is barbaric.

[Chuckmak]

too bad i don't give a shit. well i give a shit enough to post a reply saying i don't give a shit.

[Plantagenet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Carlhole', '
')
Who gives a f*** about taxes.

The End Of The World as We Know It is nearly upon us, there's nothing we can do about it

[Plantagenet]

Joe Six-Pack is going to have to hand over nearly $2 more for a case of beer.

Willy Wino and Sally Martini will also be taxed.



Somebody didn't send Obama the memo from Herbert Hoover about not raising taxes during a recession.

[Tyler_JC]

Raising "sin" taxes is extremely unpopular among a select group of Americans.

Raising general tax rates are unpopular among everyone.

However, American politics works by the 50% plus 1 principle. If you can get at least 50.0001% of the vote, that's all that matters.

Politicians often find it easier to tax a small group of the population to death rather than deal with general "revenue raisers". They might REALLY piss off the smokers, drinkers, gamblers, what-have-you but these folks still only have 1 vote each regardless of how angry they are.

Cigarettes are the perfect example of this. A pack of Camels costs over $7.25 at my local convenient store. Smokers are furious at this, but less than 1 in 5 people in my state smoke. They just aren't a large enough or well organized enough group to fight back.

Raising beer taxes is going to be much more damaging because a lot more people drink beer than smoke.



Of course, with alcohol sales falling off a cliff...who knows what the fallout will be.

[Plantagenet]

Good point, JC. IMHO, the most likely outcome of raising taxes in a recession is to suck more money out of the economy, further deepening the recession.

Of course if people are unwilling to pony up the extra 2 bucks a case for the new tax, they can always buy the new lil' Obama cans of Mugen beer and the tax will be only a buck a case

[Sixstrings]

It really is disingenuous of Obama to claim he's not raising taxes on the poor, as these smokes and booze taxes hurt the poor the most.

And yeah, when you're eating your fancy burgers with arugula and Grey Poupon it's easy to say "Let them quit smoking and eat cake."

But the fact is, quitting is hard under the best of circumstances -- even our President hasn't been able to quit smoking.

Now imagine being out of work, no prospects for work, and your life sucking on a massive level. And then the taxman comes along to take away your last little pleasure.

[coyote]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', 'h')igher taxes on beer

[efarmer]

I think Wall Street technology can solve this issue for J6P.
A tranche will be created that consists of a finite value of
the combination of beer, gasoline, lottery tickets, sausage
sticks in poly wrappers, elastic loop automobile air fresheners
(exclusive of the luxury skunk shaped unit),
and various food substances that are tubular in shape and
can be continuously rolled on heated stainless steel tubes
under a clear polycarbonate sneeze shield. Any portions
of this set of staples that increase in price will result in
the remaining available essentials to quality life being
reduced to keep the tranche at an almost constant value.
I considered the nacho chips with the boiling cauldron
of J6P tongue cauterizing cheese food with jalapenos
as part of the tranche, but I realized that once you deviate
from the bare essentials, you are getting out on a shaky limb.
I am somewhat hesitant to include the lottery tickets, J6P
would resent the knowledge that they were subject to
statistical manipulation and it would probably spoil his
sense of an impending win.

J6P is a wholistic guy and he deserves a wholistic approach.

[Munqi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', 'B')eer is a food.

Raising taxes on food in the middle of a recession is barbaric.

[Plantagenet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Munqi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', 'B')eer is a food.

Raising taxes on food in the middle of a recession is barbaric.

[Carlhole]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Carlhole', '
')
Who gives a f*** about taxes.

The End Of The World as We Know It is nearly upon us, there's nothing we can do about it

[Plantagenet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Carlhole', '
')
How could tax rates possibly be significant if the the whole world's energy paradigm will shortly change in profound ways.

[Munqi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Munqi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', 'B')eer is a food.

Raising taxes on food in the middle of a recession is barbaric.

[Carlhole]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Carlhole', '
')
How could tax rates possibly be significant if the the whole world's energy paradigm will shortly change in profound ways.

[Tyler_JC]

I'm with Plant, beer and wine are food.

In many cultures within the United States, it is common to drink a glass of wine or a pint of beer with dinner. Drinking hard alcohol with dinner is much less common.

There is a distinction between vodka and beer, just as there is a distinction between heroine and marijuana.

Treating them the same ignores the culture surrounding them.



Americans, as a whole, have significantly cut their alcohol consumption over time. But most of that decline was in spirits. Hard liquor consumption is down by more than a third while wine is up and beer is basically flat.

This is partly the result of cultural factors and partly the result of harsher government tax treatment of spirits.

Equalizing (and raising) the various alcohol taxes could have the unintended consequence of making hard liquor more commonplace, not less.

Real world example: What do alcoholic homeless people drink? Why?

[Munqi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Tyler_JC', 'I')'m with Plant, beer and wine are food.

In many cultures within the United States, it is common to drink a glass of wine or a pint of beer with dinner. Drinking hard alcohol with dinner is much less common.

There is a distinction between vodka and beer, just as there is a distinction between heroine and marijuana.

Treating them the same ignores the culture surrounding them.

Americans, as a whole, have significantly cut their alcohol consumption over time. But most of that decline was in spirits. Hard liquor consumption is down by more than a third while wine is up and beer is basically flat.

This is partly the result of cultural factors and partly the result of harsher government tax treatment of spirits.

Equalizing (and raising) the various alcohol taxes could have the unintended consequence of making hard liquor more commonplace, not less.

Real world example: What do alcoholic homeless people drink? Why?