A new study concludes an increase in Maryland's alcohol tax could save lives and money.
The study was conducted by the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins on behalf of the Maryland Health Care For All Coalition. The group also released a poll Tuesday that suggests many Marylanders support the tax.
The research results "... make clear that a dime a drink increase in Maryland's alcohol tax is good policy and good politics," said Vincent DeMarco, president of the Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative and the Health Care For All Coalition. "Maryland voters overwhelmingly support the dime a drink alcohol tax increase because they know that it will save lives and help Maryland's economy."
Alcohol use is responsible for 1,278 deaths and 7,470 violent crimes in Maryland every year, according to the study. The tax increase will save 33 lives and prevent 370 violent acts every year, as well as prevent 13,301 cases of alcohol dependence or abuse, researchers said. A 10 cent increase in the cost of a drink will lead to $215.6 million in new revenue for the state and an additional $225.2 million in cost savings for Maryland's economy because of a projected 4.25 percent decrease in alcohol consumption, resulting in increased productivity to the tune of $131.7 million, more than enough to exceed any potential job losses in the alcohol industry, according to the research.
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28 comments:
Alcohol is what we use to deal with the taxes we have to pay now!
there is no win at all when there is a new tax. demonize whatever it is and tax it. when are we going to wake up. maybe they should start taxing drinking water after all it makes you go to the bathroom which adds to the wastewater that must be treated.
we smokers feel your pain. but we told ya so.
We don't need more taxes.
We need LESS SPENDING.
....and how many smoker's lives has that tax saved?
I wonder how many trees Annapolis can save by taxing toilet paper?
I just brew my own alcohol and sell it out of my garage screw MD!
Let's start taxing cow gas. Didn't congress spend a lot of money on studying that at one point?
Democrat tax whores! and look out gas is going over $5 a gallon and the media is ignoring it.
Like the cigarette taxes this is just another way to give Omalley more money to blow on useless programs. The government, be it local,state or federal could care less about saving lives, their only concern is more dollars to spend.
They taxed our poop and then reallocated the money. More taxes on alcohol will mean more folks go to DE to buy their bottle - or drink and drive...those who get caught will get taxed even more. We collectively reelected these (tax/spend)ers...although we didn'g get much of a choice at the polls this time around.
just look at who thinks another law is great, those total doofuss's at Health Care for All.
they really think we are the most stupid and ignorant serfs.
does anybody really, truly, think that raising the tax on alcohol will reduce drunk driving deaths?
where do they come up with this garbage?
33 lives will be saved???
where'd that number come from?
unbelievable power grabs by these morons, and our brothers and sisters voted for this crap.
we've only ourselves to blame for what is happening to this country.
35,000 laws were passed last year.
35,000 more pieces of your freedom puzzle have been lost forever.
my God, we're a mess.
saw the other day how the Democrats are so proud of the jobs they created. 100,000 or so but they didnt say how many were government jobs that we need to spend more taxes paying for.
Wonder if I commissioned some group with an officious sounding name that no one ever heard of to substantiate my belief that obesity is caused by prepackaged meals and that a dollar a box tax would reduce the average weight of MD citizens by 75 lbs we could get such a bill on the table in the Gen'l ASSembly?
we need less high paid do nothings in Government...
I say take away the public sector's vote on election day...
in MD it is a conflict of interest.. these parasites get away with continuously voting in candidates that serve their personal intersts first... serving the citizenry is the very last thing on their own agenda
robbing money from the hard working citizens of this state so omalley and his cronies can fund their welfare cases in montgomery, baltimore, PG county to keep the dem's in office!
While I would hate to see any jobs lost for sure, additional taxes on alcohol are long overdue.
Do any of you have any idea how much alcoholics cost us everyday?Lost productivity at work,not to mention all the drunks who get SSI.then add in all the medical expenses,not just for victims of drunk driving but the alcoholics themselves,many of whom are on Medicaid.They get drunk,have seizures,fall down,overdose on booze,etc,etc.Ask local ER staff about how many alkies clog the ER's.And then add on counseling for their kids and family members.
3:00 so what you are saying is it's kind of like the lottery, this is just the governments way of getting some of the money back that they are already givin em!
Fast food and snacks cause obesity, and we hear about the medical cost but we have not seen an increase in taxes!
Don't talk about alcoholics costing so much how about all the perks that the prisoners get and they are criminals, suppose to be there to be punished but they are living better than when they were on the streets, if they didn't have it so easy then maybe we would not have all the cell phones and crimes in the prisons, bring back the death penalty and thin the prison population down!!!!
3:00 They're not going to stop drinking and they wouldn't cost us if the Democrats would stop stuffing tax dollars in their pockets. Most don't have medical expensive s because the don't go to the doctor.We have far more health care costs as a result of eating sugar whats next sugar tax? It's BS it's all about stealing more money from hard working Americans to fund who the hell knows!
33 is code for members of the secret society who runs our local, state and Federal Governments
The code is sent to let members know to support the legislation
The statewide voter poll (conducted December 20-28, 2010) of 663 likely voters statewide found 66 percent of them support the proposed alcohol tax increase.
So 438 people out of 663 thought this was a good idea? How many people live in Md? How many of those 663 were drinkers?
I hardly drink so it really won't affect me, but it sounds like this group and the state of Md. are pulling a fast one.
Where do they get these numbers from? How can they PREDICT how many cases of abuse and/or dependence it will affect/lower?
Whose 33 lives will be saved? How will it prevent 370 violent acts a year? How can they be sure that drinkers will slow down their consumption by 4.25 percent?
I never even heard of this poll until tonight. Yet they polled 663 people (drinkers or not who knows), and said most of the state also thinks this way.
I guess I'm one of the 33% that doesn't buy this crap.
dems always want a new tax. stop so much spending on foolishness and cut tax. why buy any large or small item in Md. when Del is so close.B.L.P.
I guess medium items are ok. lol
All supported and funded by the Abell Foundation....another left wing staff devoted to social justice and providing more and more to those less fortunate.
Other items they fund...'Project LightBulb' installing high energy efficient devices in low-income neighborhoods and the 'Tenant Advocacy Project' where they propose a huge slate of eviction reforms....sound familiar!
Sure they organize, they obtain huge donations but then they also engineer their goals through funded studies like these. Too bad this is the type of 'summaries' and 'sound-bites' that truly influence our lawmakers.
Ingenious or Obscene!
That is good only rich people will be getting dui and dwi the poor can no longer afford it.
Armed revolt. We started a revolution for less than this. And because of our "leaders" spending and squeezing us EVERY cahance they get, this is only the beginning. I told you a year ago, taxes are going up on EVERYTHING. EVERYWHERE. Building supplies, water, twinkies, you name it.
I like that statement in the 2nd paragraph, " many Marylanders suppoert the tax". What a joke.
"Many" how many? 10 20 100. The person who wrote this study is either stupid or thinks we're stupid. I think the latter. No one likes taxs. I think I will Send Vinnie DeMarco my opinion. So Should you. Heres his email address. demarco@mdinitiative.org
Tom Sawyer
Real World Thought - Master Settle Agreement with King Tobacco for 500 Billion + $ to reduce Youth Smoking ? States have averaged about 13% of funds for Youth Prevention. Alcohol Tax is just another way to feed the wasteful gov't coffers. Wake up and smell the coffee - they are going to tax that, too. 2011 Govt entities do not know how to be efficient.
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