4 ms·

The cool wineries, microbrews, and distilleries leap to mind when you think about alcohol in Oregon. Raising taxes would hurt sales of these small businesses th

The cool wineries, microbrews, and distilleries leap to mind when you think about alcohol in Oregon. Raising taxes would hurt sales of these small businesses that bring tourism to small towns. But by admitting alcohol taxes would harm sales we also admit it would have the desired effect of lowering consumption. This disconnect is that a tax lowers consumption across the board, but we only want to lower excess consumption. One thing that might be tried is a form of rationing. This would lower sales but still allow casual consumption to continue. Rationing would be politically unlikely to happen, but capping the size of containers and packages could have a similar effect. Rationing has happened during COVID in Pennsylvania and Australia has started monitoring consumption by taking IDs. Sweden famously had the Bratt system instead of prohibition.

ralusek 4y ago
The state doesn't need to do anything at all. If people are drinking themselves to death, that is within their rights. I'm pretty concerned with how utilitarian and authoritarian our populations are getting. The state should be the last tool we reach to, and only for the meditation of severe and direct negative third party externalities (i.e. reasonable case for laws regarding drunk driving).
- paulryanrogers 4y ago
  Technically people have a right to die by alcohol, yet there are circumstances where society has a case for intervention. Drinkers who insist on driving, alcoholic parents, and military or public servants are a few that spring to mind. Though I imagine most such cases are already illegal. Yet if the person's goal is suicide they have other means, should alcohol become too expensive.
  - ralusek 4y ago
    I addressed this point in my comment. > The state should be the last tool we reach to, and only for the meditation of severe and direct negative third party externalities (i.e. reasonable case for laws regarding drunk driving).
- DanBC 4y ago
  > If people are drinking themselves to death, that is within their rights. Addiction is rarely a choice. Alcohol producers should pay for the costs of the harms they cause rather than off-loading those costs onto the state.
- andrewjl 4y ago
  > If people are drinking themselves to death, that is within their rights. Not when they do this while operating heavy machinery or a motor vehicle. What approach besides policy would you take to deal with third party externalities?
  - ralusek 4y ago
    From my comment > The state should be the last tool we reach to, and only for the meditation of severe and direct negative third party externalities (i.e. reasonable case for laws regarding drunk driving).

ralusek 4y ago

The state doesn't need to do anything at all. If people are drinking themselves to death, that is within their rights. I'm pretty concerned with how utilitarian and authoritarian our populations are getting. The state should be the last tool we reach to, and only for the meditation of severe and direct negative third party externalities (i.e. reasonable case for laws regarding drunk driving).

paulryanrogers 4y ago
Technically people have a right to die by alcohol, yet there are circumstances where society has a case for intervention. Drinkers who insist on driving, alcoholic parents, and military or public servants are a few that spring to mind. Though I imagine most such cases are already illegal. Yet if the person's goal is suicide they have other means, should alcohol become too expensive.
- ralusek 4y ago
  I addressed this point in my comment. > The state should be the last tool we reach to, and only for the meditation of severe and direct negative third party externalities (i.e. reasonable case for laws regarding drunk driving).
DanBC 4y ago
> If people are drinking themselves to death, that is within their rights. Addiction is rarely a choice. Alcohol producers should pay for the costs of the harms they cause rather than off-loading those costs onto the state.
andrewjl 4y ago
> If people are drinking themselves to death, that is within their rights. Not when they do this while operating heavy machinery or a motor vehicle. What approach besides policy would you take to deal with third party externalities?
- ralusek 4y ago
  From my comment > The state should be the last tool we reach to, and only for the meditation of severe and direct negative third party externalities (i.e. reasonable case for laws regarding drunk driving).