Thread: Why wasn't alcohol taxed along with cigarettes!

On April 1st the large federal taxes on cigarettes went into effect to
add extra money to cover more children in the healthcare program.
In March, Nevada got a 80 cent per pack tax imposed to raise
more revenue. I know taxes have been raised on alcohol, but not
as much as cigarettes.
I live in Las Vegas where a large number of illegal immigrants have
moved in the last few years because of the jobs here. Last Easter
I took my mother to the grocery store to pick up some items she
needed for dinner and because I'm handicapped I waited in the car
while she ran in. While sitting there several hispanic men and families
came out of the store carrying cases of beer. Hardly anything else
in the grocery line and not a six pack but cases. While I had no way of
knowing if they were illegal or not I was pretty shocked because of the
holiday and hoping they weren't going to be driving later after drinking
all that beer. As I sat there more cases were being carried out and I must have counted at least fifty cases of beer in the short time before my mother came out and we left. This goes on everytime I go to the grocery
store. Many pay for their groceries with food stamps but always have
money for alcohol. To bad taxes weren't raised so high on alcohol so they
could not afford it and wouldn't be driving drunk and killing Americans.
Sorry for the rant but it just makes me so mad everytime I think about it.
Hope I didn't offend any smokers or drinkers.

Good question, alcohol kills more people than cigarette smoke.

But then the elite would have to pay higher taxes for their cocktail parties.

True alchohol does kill more people than cigarettes....it also is a source for violent crime....not to mention drunk drivers. The cost of alcohol related costs is much higher and much deadlier.

Originally Posted by redpony353

True alchohol does kill more people than cigarettes....it also is a source for violent crime....not to mention drunk drivers. The cost of alcohol related costs is much higher and much deadlier.

Exactly! Yet we find it necessary to continue to pour money into this war on drugs for the past 35 years only to see the problems get worse and worse. Then our Congress wages another war on athletes using steroids. I have never understood how one can be legal and cause so much damage and one is not legal.

The U.S. federal government spent over $19 billion dollars in 2003 on the War on Drugs, at a rate of about $600 per second. The budget has since been increased by over a billion dollars. Not only are we losing this war it is getting more and more violent.

http://www.drugsense.org/wodclock.htm

It's rather simple as to why alcohol has not been taxed( or not at the same rate as tobacco). It's because the alcohol lobby has been quite effective in starving off additional taxes on their products, through contributing large campaign contributions and otherwise lining the pockets of our all too willing to accept politicians in Washington.

Big tobacco does the same thing, but it's now open season on the tobacco companies because trial lawyers like john edwards (remember, virtually every one of these politicans was or is a lawyer) have been able to make small fortunes suing tobacco companies. The trial lawyers of America also influence policy through campaign contributions( and probably other under the table contributions and perks) in order to keep the court house steps open to their law suits.

It's simply politically correct at this point for politicians to bash tobacco companies and an easy way to increase revenues by taxing tobacco. The ones complaining the loudest are tobacco companies and those who use tobacco. But that's simply a matter of numbers for politicians since the majority of Americans have no love lost for either.

Of course it's hypocritical and illogical as to why one would be taxed and the other left alone. But as we have come to expect, those contradictions in Washington matter very little. It's also illogical as to why we continue to wage a war on drugs, while allowing one of the most dangerous drugs of all, alcohol, to remain available on virtually every street corner across this country.

But..since when is Washington in the business of making sense?

We are lucky they didn't tax Beer too!!! If they begin to tax food, we'll be in a heap of trouble.

Don't worry, it will be next. I want to know why they don't tax tanning booths, we know overexposure to the Sun causes skin cancer, why not a fee to employers who have their employees overly exposed to the sun....I know many older Americans who have issues now with skin cancer because they worked outside. The Chef for the G20 said the best thing they could for America was tax SUGAR! Obesity, diabetes, dental decay....you name it. Why not just make pot legal and tax it? Why not tax fast food restaurants and double the tax for childrens "happy meals" since we know that leads to unhealthy eating habits. How about all pre done freezer food with all the chemicals? How about fresh foods and vegetables to be sure they're checked properly? Noting sadder than being a health nut and dying from contamination of "healthy" foods. Let's see.....oh ya, why not tax all violent movies and video games since we know there's a direct corilation (sp) between that and actual violence? Higher taxes on high healed shoes since we know it causes foot deformity, foot problems and bad backs. Artificial fingernails....big problem with fingernail fungus. Higher taxes on the new light bulbs since they contain mercury. Cell phones since there is evidence it causes problems in brain wave patterns and possibly brain cancer. Canning supplies and such since it takes business away from canning companies. Carpets and vinyl siding because it releases toxic chemicals when it burns and makes normal household fires spread faster. Higher taxes on candy and chips because alot of the food stamp people waste their money on non-nutritional food and buy junk food instead. Tax truckers and trains and busses etc, since they spew more toxins in the air than cars do. Tax bikes because they make states loose money on gas taxes when they use alternative transportation. Tax all re-usable plastic products, because they also have toxic properties if they are heated or cooled and used too many times.

I could go on and on and on and on.......and trust me, some yahoo is probably reading this now and tallying the potential taxes up at this very moment. It's not a question of why not that.....it's just a matter of when, and who's next.

JohnnyYuma.....your food isn't taxed? Mine is. And taxes on the containers and everything else. I pay a convience tax when I go through the drive through instead of going in the store.....ya know....there's a bag to pay for. Businesses have a mixed bag for paying bills.....some charge you for paying by check and others charge you because you use electronic paying.

I also noticed when I was scanning the web for cheap cigarettes.....mine are now made in Germany. Who knew? They drove them out of here. Keep going and we will drive every business out of here. We'll be the new poverty with our grass huts (or igloos, depending on where you live) and starving kids if something doesn't change.

Originally Posted by NoBueno

It's simply politically correct at this point for politicians to bash tobacco companies and an easy way to increase revenues by taxing tobacco.

Of course it's hypocritical and illogical as to why one would be taxed and the other left alone. But as we have come to expect, those contradictions in Washington matter very little. It's also illogical as to why we continue to wage a war on drugs, while allowing one of the most dangerous drugs of all, alcohol, to remain available on virtually every street corner across this country.

But..since when is Washington in the business of making sense?

NoBueno, wish we had a thumbs up emoticon.

I have rioted against the soda and snack machines in schools, as well as the garbage that gets served for lunch to these kids. Tuesday: corn dogs; Wednesday: pizza; Thursday: macaroni and cheese. And to make the whole thing look nifty, they get canned peaches or canned mixed fruit (all sweetened with corn syrup or some chemical).