There is a verse in the Bible that is often misquoted. People say, “Money is the root of all evil,” whereas the statement that was actually made was “the love of money is the root of all evil.” Therefore, even when the avenue that brings the money into the state treasury is one that is harmful and counterproductive, it is still used, because who can argue against the well-known good called “more money”? Don’t we need money for our roads and our libraries? Don’t we need it for social programs and police work?
Hmmmm. Doesn’t it seem likely that we would need less money for police work and for social programs if people were not alcoholics, and if people would not drive vehicles when they were drunk?
Here’s the point that was brought out in a November 22, 2011 article. Our fair state of Iowa is not only known for corn. Nosiree! Our state is among the few states still in the government liquor wholesale business. Instead of regulating and taxing competitive liquor sales Iowa buys, sells, and ships all of the hard liquor, and taxes and regulates it. This leaves the decision in the hands of government employees as to what we Iowans can find to drink and how much we will pay.
And this particular article is about how the Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller wants the federal government to ban one of the competitor’s products. He has even gone so far as to find reasonable-sounding arguments about the fact that the larger size of the product Four Loko is a dangerously large serving. Four Loko has, in fact, been banned in some other states because the combination of caffeine, sugar, and alcohol leads people to consume a higher level of alcohol than they realize.
The irony here is not that Four Loko is a great product that we should hold on to, but rather that one of Iowa’s popular products by the name of Fireball Whisky is a cinnamon-flavored liquor that is far stronger than Four Loko and it comes in bigger bottles.
Seems like a conflict of interest to get rid of the one and not the other. Since both of them appeal to young people and encourage them to indulge too far – let’s get them both off the list as soon as possible. And perhaps the “loss” of revenue will be made up in the fact that a few families won’t become irresponsible.
