What kind of logic do the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editors employ? Today, they stump for raising the beer tax. First, they employ the "every other state does, so should we" logic. I don't know about my readers, but my parents taught me that logic stinks with the question, "if everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you?" Second, they go through a couple of Wisconsin taxes that are high-the gas tax, the cigarette tax. Under their line of thought, our beer tax should be high, too. I'm beginning to think the Journal Sentinel editors write these editorials while they are high.
I'm going to cut to the chase here. Just because our beer tax is low does not mean it needs to be higher. This state is already a tax hell. And I've been to plenty of other states, and I don't think the quality of our lives is any better because of those high taxes. This is about more than just a low tax on beer. This is about the over all tax burden in this state. The responsible action for the state is to find a way to spend funds more efficiently. Simply raising taxes does not do that. I'll tell you why many state lawmakers are walking away from this issue-it is in fact the same reason that I hope the tax's supporters keep pushing it: There is a high level of dissatisfaction with the tax level in this state, and this is just an emotional enough tax to spark a tax revolt. Lawmakers don't want to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs, so they stay as far away from the beer tax as possible. The beer tax is a line in the sand they don't want to draw because Wisconsin voters might actually cross it.
(cross posted at the Badger Blog Alliance)
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