Today's AJC "Truth-O-Meter" featured the potential economic impact of Sunday take-out liquor sales. For those of you who don't live in Atlanta, the Atlanta Journal Constitution is our local newspaper and the "Truth-O-Meter" is a daily feature in which a reporter investigates the validity of a statement or opinion from a local politician or pundit and then rates the results. The highest rating is "True" - for a quote or opinion that is proven to be correct. The lowest rating is "Pants on Fire." You can probably figure out what that one means. It can be quite amusing.
Today's statement, compliments of the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S.: "Sunday liquor sales could generate $3.4 million to $4.89 million a year in additional sales tax revenue for Georgia."
The AJC rating: MOSTLY TRUE (it fell slightly short of a rating of TRUE because a handful of experts believe the additional revenue will be slightly less, but still substantial).
Regardless of whatever moral opposition or chickenshit excuse the Georgia Senate Republican Caucus has for not sending Senate Bill 10 to the Senate floor for a vote, they're flushing a potential cash windfall straight down the toilet. Millions of dollars. (Senate Bill 10 is the bill that would allow local citizens to vote on whether or not to allow Sunday take-out liquor sales in the area in which they live). Is it possible that the Senate Republican Caucus isn't aware of Georgia's desperate need for cash? They haven't noticed the joblessness? The teachers and police officers and firefighters suffering from forced furloughs? The general sense of economic despair? May be they're more out of touch than I originally thought.
As I've stated in the past (ad nauseum), denying citizens the right to vote is a self-serving act of pandering to the Christian Coalition and the local liquor lobby. But at this point it's pretty clear that it's something else as well: Economically Ignorant.
I can't believe I voted for those assholes. Shame on me.
See, my lack of participation in civic duties is not
ReplyDelete+just+ me being lazy and uninformed, it's also a general disillusionment in the process as a whole.
Like voting for the other assholes would have been better...Douchebag Christian Coalition has effective scare tactics.
ReplyDelete@Annabelle: Screw civic duties - I just want to buy a bottle of Pinot Noir on a Sunday!
ReplyDelete@Hoss: Good point. The Doucebag you know is probably better than the Douchebag you don't know.
But, you're missing the point here. See, you think that you are fully capable of making this decision to vote to allow package liquor sales on Sundays. But, in reality you aren't. You need to be protected from yourself by the government. And the republican caucus knows that government should make these decisions on your behalf. You should just trust them. They are morally superior people who only have your best interests at heart. And, because you are morally inferior to them, you can't be trusted to make the right decision.
ReplyDeletehahahahaha ;-)
@Jay: You're right! Who knows what anarchy might ensue if all the "regular" folks in Georgia could go out and buy a 6-pack of Corona Light on a Sunday. We could break out in uncontrolled cookouts and block parties. There might be music and dancing...perish the thought!
ReplyDeleteI'm probably lucky I have the State Senate to protect me from myself! *snicker*