No Drink Tax

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is wrong to push for higher taxes on alcohol. Increasing alcohol taxes costs jobs and disproportionally hurts those who are least able to pay them.

Not only are sin taxes on wine, beer and spirits regressive, they also contribute to job loss. After the federal government doubled the beer tax in 1991, approximately 60,000 Americans in the brewing, distributing and retailing industries lost their jobs from a shrunken industry.

Too often, sin taxes are treated like an ATM to generate extra revenue to make up for wasteful government spending. As Americans struggle through tough economic conditions, California could not pick a worse time to increase taxes.