September
30, 2011
Dear
Editor:
In
“States Putting Hopes in ‘Bottoms up’ to help Bottom line” (New York Times, Sept 28, 2011) Mr.
Jernian explains that raising sales tax on alcohol is a strategy that will
ultimately make people drink less.
I
disagree. An increase in alcohol price, or its tax may only encourage
purchasing less quality brands that may have higher alcohol percentages,
especially for consumers with limited income, but will not limit the amount of
alcohol consumed.
Unfortunately,
the money earned from increased tax rates will not be sufficient to cover the
long term damages alcohol does in the communities (DUI’s, Violence, sexual
abuse against children and women). This will only dig a bigger whole of debt in
which the U.S. is already in, and the lets not forget the increase in human
suffering.
So
why not legalize marijuana and tax that? A drug that is less harmful. It will
have less long-term damages and we wouldn’t have to worry about domestic
violence or private establishments being trashed.
Legalizing
marijuana + Tax= End of the economic recession
Just
sayin’….
Sincerely,
Michael Hernandez
Berkeley, California
Hi Michael,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading the article that you chose. My perspective on the article topic is very similar to yours. I also believe that if tax is increased on alcohol it will only push people towards buying cheaper and more harmful alcoholic beverages. Legalizing marijuana and taxing it, does seem like a better idea since a lot of people smoke it illegally already. However the most important thing is that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol.
Good article!
Sarah Jara
To continue on Michael's point about legalizing and taxing marijuana, I think this act should be incorporated with the increased alcohol taxes. The article mentioned that at the moment there is no (legal) substitute for alcohol and as a result people will likely either buy cheaper alcohol or simply pay more. If we were to legalize and tax marijuana then it could serve as a substitute, even a complementary good for some people, for those seeking intoxication with the added benefit that it brings less detrimental effects to both the individual and society. By removing societal externalities while bringing much needed revenue to the government, this seems to be a win-win situation for everyone.
ReplyDelete-Michelle Little