You can Have My Valu-Rite When You Pry It Out Of My Cold Dead Hands (genghis)

The nanny-state…the Hydra we just can’t kill. No, this isn’t about banning alcohol, but raising taxes on alcohol to prevent us from drinking ourselves into an early grave. CNN provides us with a new study explaining how higher taxes on alcohol can save many lives. Well…a few.

(CNN) – “Higher taxes on alcohol can make a night out more expensive but could save lives, according to a study released Thursday.”

“Each time the state of Alaska raised its alcoholic beverage tax, fewer deaths were caused by or related to alcohol, according to the study that examined 28 years of data.”

”The study, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, tracked the number of deaths for every quarter in Alaska from 1976 to 2004. “

“Using information from death certificates, Wagenaar and the co-authors compiled the number of deaths caused by alcohol, such as alcohol poisoning and alcoholic liver disease, and deaths linked to alcohol, such as cirrhosis and chronic pancreatitis. Deaths caused by alcohol-related car accidents or violence were not included.”

Now we get to the nub of things:

”In addition to public health implications, state governments should re-examine their alcohol excise taxes on for fiscal reasons, said George Hacker, director of Alcohol Policies Project for the Center for Science in the Public Interest.”

“Given state budgets are in the toilet bowl, it's an available source of revenue that has not been looked to for a very long time," Hacker said. "The tax increases are long overdue. The product doesn't pay its way in covering economic and social costs associated with its use."

While the study and it’s advocates decry the cost to taxpayers of dying alkies (just like dying smokers), they of course never factor in the reduced social security costs, pension costs, carbon footprint etc. of those who choose to kick off at an earlier age. This will piss off some of you who’ve lost someone dear to one or both habits, and I’m sorry, but they were free to make their choices. If it helps, I indulge in both habits prodigiously, so take some comfort in knowing that I’ll be retiring to an early grave. Bonus! More Social Security solvency for you! No need to thank me.

Finally, if alcohol is taxed to the point where it’s out of reach of the average moron: This whole blog will dry up and blow away like a twig. It’s obvious by now that everyone who posts or comments here is at least somewhat drunk.

posted by xgenghisx at 01:34 AM

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