1900% Tax Increase

If you think the proposed tax increases in California are bad, look at this from Oregon:

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Five Oregon state lawmakers want to impose a hefty tax on beer and have introduced a bill that brewers say would cripple them.

Four Portland legislators joined a Springfield senator to introduce Oregon House Bill 2461, which would impose a $49.61 tax on each barrel of beer produced by Oregon brewers.

The tax would raise revenue for the state at a time when budgets are running in the red. Specifically, the bill says it would fund prevention, treatment and recovery programs for those addicted to alcohol and other substances.

So, does the state want people to quit drinking beer or continue at current levels to fund their programs? That's the problem with so-called "sin taxes" used to fund health programs. The State ends up at cross purposes with itself.