From Sarah Longwell, managing director of the American Beverage Institute in Washington, D.C., an association representing restaurants including more than 280 in North Carolina.
Still a few teetotalers continue to cite the effects of a small group of hard-core drunk drivers as a reason to punish everyone. But higher drink taxes will never deter alcohol abusers. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has found raising prices does little to reduce consumption among the heaviest drinkers.
North Carolinians should not stand by while their representatives pass their revenue problems onto the employers, employees, and customers of the hospitality industry – or any other industry for that matter. Like their constituents, N.C. legislators first need to adjust their actions to better reflect the current economic climate. Everyone else is troubled enough.
