Drinkers should face increase in sin tax, too

EDITORIAL

By Ruth Luse
   With New Jersey’s much-heralded smoking ban now in place and another hike in the cigarette excise tax — which could raise $80 million in state revenue by tacking on an additional 35 cents to the current $2.40 per-pack tax — on the horizon, legislators and anti-smoking lobbyists appear to be making strides in the war on tobacco.
   Why, we ask, aren’t legislators and lobbyists equally as interested in addressing the evils of alcohol? Maybe this year they might begin, because there is a proposal to raise wholesale taxes on licensed beverages. But the proposed hikes are nothing compared to what is planned for cigarettes. Under the proposal, the wholesale excise tax on beer would increase 5 cents to 17 cents a gallon; wine, 10 cents to 80 cents a gallon; and liquor, 10 cents to $4.50 a gallon.
   Why not at least 35 cents per gallon more in wholesale taxes for licensed beverages, as well? Surely most are aware of what the excessive use of alcohol can do not only to the many legally entitled by law to drink, but to their families, teens and the community-at-large. Alcohol, indeed, can be more dangerous than cigarettes.
   Take for example the TCNJ freshman, who has been missing for weeks and is presumed dead. He reportedly disappeared after a night of heavy drinking. Police think he ended up in a dumpster at the school and are searching for his remains at a Pennsylvania landfill site.
   Take for example, last week’s report about the March 18 teen drinking party on East Prospect Street in Hopewell Borough. Two of the young people who attended that party ended up in the hospital. One of them could have lost her life, because, as police told us, she was "so drunk she had passed out and was totally unresponsive."
   Take the weekly police reports about persons arrested and charged with driving under the influence.
   Also, take a party that took place in Elm Ridge Park late in 2003. Readers might recall that 10 Valley teens burglarized a residence there during the Christmas holidays, spending several nights there drinking beer and trashing the place. Of the 10 involved, seven were under the age of 18. One of the partygoers gained access to that house with a key found in a hiding place. The owners of that house were vacationing in Florida at the time and had no idea what was going on at home.
   The owners of the East Prospect Street house were not at home on March 18 when that party was going on. In this case, we have to wonder why a 16-year-old was left home alone.
   These are just two examples of the kinds of events many young people in Hopewell Valley have attended over many years. That’s why, years ago, Valley parents of graduating CHS seniors created the Post Prom Party — an alcohol-free event that takes place after the senior prom yearly. We applaud that effort, and the local SafeHomes project, which enlists of the support and pledges of parents in the Valley not to make alcohol and illegal drugs available to the young people who visit their residences.
   Obviously, projects like these, while laudable, are just a beginning. The problem is big and getting worse.
   We know an increase in the tax on alcohol won’t solve the myriad problems associated with drinking alcohol in excess, anymore than hikes in the cigarette tax will keep people from smoking. But if our leaders are intent on addressing the problems of society with high sin taxes with an eye toward balancing their budget, they should wage war on drinking with the same enthusiasm they have battled smoking.