screams the headline.
‘IT’S now possible to buy a bottle of wine for less than bottled water – and a government inquiry has been told raising the price of alcohol is the best way to reduce the 813,000 hospital admissions and 32,600 deaths caused by alcohol each year.
The Australian National Preventive Health Agency has been asked to model a floor price on alcohol that could quadruple the cost of wine.
Submissions from health and consumer groups support a plan to force consumers to pay at least $1.30 per standard drink – that is, 100ml of wine. Under such a system, the cheapest 750ml bottle would be $9.75, and the cheapest four-litre cask $52…’
Where to begin?
‘The inquiry comes amid growing public concern about Australia’s binge-drinking culture and in the wake of the death of 18-year-old Thomas Kelly, who was killed after being king hit while visiting Kings Cross last month.’
A “public concern” that has been stoked and exploited by sensationalist articles and a propaganda campaign in this same newspaper
‘In a submission to the inquiry, Western Australia’s Police Commissioner, who supports a minimum price for alcohol, said there were links between alcohol prices and traffic crash outcomes, violence, crime and alcohol related disease and injury.
Really, Einstein? So what’s new? There are links between police corruption and incompetence, and violence, crime and alcohol too. But I suppose it would be inconvenient to address those. JUST ENFORCE THE EXISTING FUCKING LAWS.
‘The Consumers Health Forum also wanted the alcohol price raised, but said it should be done through the tax system – so the money raised didn’t go to retailers and manufacturers but could be used to address the harm caused by alcohol misuse.
Via the Consumer’s Health Forum and similar organisations, no doubt. Unelected do-gooder assholes who have identified a comfortable little niche as a substitute for productive work and are now lobbying for even more taxpayer’s money to be stolen on their behalf. Who gave this particular group (and dozens more like them, God knows) the right to speak on my behalf? Or yours? While using my money to lobby government to penalise me? Because this is how it works: Set up a “charitable foundation” (tax-free, of course), lobby the government for taxpayer’s money in order to lecture and harass those same taxpayers. This raises the price of alcohol, (or cigarettes or fast food) which money flows back into government coffers. Meanwhile, the parasitic creeps doing the lobbying are able to a) live very comfortably on stolen money and b) pretend that they’re doing it for our own good.
The core problem isn’t cheap alcohol, any more than cheap cars cause accidents or cheap knives cause stabbings.
The core of the problem is the society which the social-engineering “progressives” have produced, several generations who have little self-control and even less concern for the rights and welfare of others.
You may bet that people such as the West Australian Police Commissioner enjoy a drink or two, but would argue that they drink “in moderation”. Well, hell, so do most people. The difference between them and the thugs and abusers of alcohol isn’t one of availability–it’s a question of attitude. The idea of expensive alcohol being used as a blunt instrument to either change attitudes or deprive alcohol abusers of their preferred drug has been shown time and again to be ineffective. They WILL get hold of alcohol, regardless of price.
Do any of these clowns seriously think that Aborigines, living in the squalor and violence of the Todd River camps, are suddenly going to wake up one meaning and think “jeez, me booze is now $60 a cask! Better get into town and see about signing up to a course to become an accountant or a doctor instead of drinkin and fightin all day and night”?
These statist bastards and their do-gooder hangers on have produced a society and they don’t much like the look of the uglier sides of it. So their solution is a collective punishment, not in order to fix the problem, because a mentally-impaired cockroach knows it won’t work. Rather, in order to make a grab for even more tax money while giving the impression that something is actually being done.
Fuck off out of our lives.
813000 hospitalisations? 1 in every 25 australians is hospitalised each year because of booze? Y’all need to harden up!
I think it’s actually one drunk hospitalised 813,000 times.
They pulled that number out their backsides. :rant
“Where to begin?”
Well I would start by buying some copper tubing,a couple old stainless steel beer kegs,some sacks of corn meal and some sugar.
http://youtu.be/UQ7b3EqsB6o?t=4m47s
Then all you need is a fast car
:whoop Now yer talkin!
It’s cheaper than buying the boring stuff. And you can make a few dollars on the side.
:cheers :cheers :cheers :cheers :cheers :cheers :cheers :cheers :cheers
All ready done that! Apart from the fast car…
You had better tell those idiots proposing this that higher prices lead to bootlegging and bootlegging leads to NASCAR
http://youtu.be/THpp3ynOUsI
Not only NASCAR but a very good TV series:
http://youtu.be/oU6mPYFtF8E
So, it’s all good then?
Well of course not,the bastards win on this then what else will they try and tax us into submission with?A tax on Tennis shoes because they breed athlete’s foot? :rant
Get ready for; fat tax, sugar tax, salt tax, carbon tax (well more carbon tax), TV tax, playstation tax, and of course subsidies for vegetables, fruit and athletic equipment.
Leftards never learn.
Don’t give ’em ideas…
Okay,back to fast cars,one for Ciaron-
http://youtu.be/on3RxOpGNYA
FMG.
What the interfering fools don’t realise is that a minimum price (as opposed to an excise duty) is really, really, really good for the liquor companies, especially the big ones.
It guarantees good profits and insulates the big players from new entrants competing on price.
Bet the lefties didn’t think about that.
It’s why the established players in any industry always support more regulation. The big corporates win, the politicians think they win and Joe Average pays (literally) the price, in particular poor Joe Average.
‘IT’S now possible to buy a bottle of wine for less than bottled water – :wtf
Another reason not to buy bottled water…..and plenty to set up the home brew.
mawm
‘IT’S now possible to buy a bottle of wine for less than bottled water..’
Which just shows how over-priced bottled water is.
Water- I churn the stuff out at under two bucks per thousand litres, delivered to your kitchen sink.
And it’s as least as good as the bottled stuff.
(O/T, I’m waiting for Gantt to put up the draft posts he has)
Had to leave them today. Spent the day in Wellington. First time I’ve been there in 25 years, and now I know why. Cold, dark, wet, horizontal rain. And all those bloody bureaucrats! Will put one up tonight.
EDIT: As you command, Fearless Leader!
I’m sure you needed to know that.
And it’s Open Season on bureaucrats?
I’m not sure you needed to rub it in, did you?
Never mind, mate–come the wet season, when we’re cut off, knee-deep in snakes and the aircon’s failed it’ll be your turn.