I talked about the recent increase in booze taxation in Massachusetts recently (in the context of how a Massachusetts legislator voted for the tax hike and then got caught buying less-taxed, cheaper booze in New Hampshire). But this caught my eye this morning... Massachusetts put this tax in place to raise revenues during the recession, right? I mean, aside from the whole moral issue of raising taxes during a recession, that was the idea.
So how come they now want to ban alcohol advertising on public transit...which is a moneymaker for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority? The ban "could benefit about 25,000 children" who ride public transit. By what, not letting them look at booze ads unless they look out a window at all the beer billboards? Hypocrisy. Ludicrous. How about the definite benefit to those kids of subsidizing public transit by selling ads?
5 comments:
Lew you're making me think I've moved to a state with an equally as annoying problem with alcohol. I was hoping to get away from PLCB-like issues...turns out, I'll probably just drive to New Hampshire too.
Well...Mass ain't that bad. I like the package store model a lot more than what we've got in PA, and I think I actually like it more than supermarket sales. But Mass is also the home of keg registration -- about which more in an upcoming post -- and they've had some real problems with drunk driving and underage bingeing (neither of which keg registration has helped, naturally).
Seriously, though, your timing sucks, moving in just as the tax on booze went up 6.25%!
You have to be kidding me!!! This is ridiculous. I live and MA and I never thought I'd be so happy to work 1 hour 20 minutes north in NH.
Now, if southern NH could only get an awesome Craft Beer store like Julio's Liqours, I'd be all set!!!
I'm surprised that you didn't come to blows with that "25,000 children" number. Any idea where that random figure comes from? Random research, perhaps?
Forgot to mention, Sam: the number came from the Marin Institute. "Number from Marin Institute" = "Bullshit." So I didn't bother arguing, it's like the old line about used car salesmen: I know he's lying, his lips are moving.
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