What happened?The New York Times The opinion team created a video that endorsed the tax hike on alcohol. It is a regressive approach to policy, which would fuel government expenditures by making it harder for people of low incomes to enjoy the simple pleasures in life.
What they are saying: In the video, titled “A Toast to Raising Alcohol Taxes,” the Times Producers describe a tax increase on alcohol as “one the most effective public-health policies that the government could ever champion.”
They cite studies that purport to prove that raising alcohol taxes saves lives. It would be the same as banning cars and swimming, or cheeseburgers and abortion.
Why it mattersFew things are more beloved by liberals than tax increases. The liberals are especially fond of regressive taxation that disproportionately affects the poor. The tax increases on alcohol and “sin” items are meant to influence people’s behaviour and make them behave like elite liberals, who shop at Whole Foods or inject themselves with insulin to lose weight. Cigarettes and sodas, gasoline, etc.
Even Sen. John Fetterman, the obese stroke patient who almost died after neglecting health for so many years, wants to see the government force people to be healthy.
