I see that Nanny's chum and chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, is pushing for there to be a minimum price on booze. He doesn't want any drinks to be sold for less than 50 pence per unit of alcohol they contain.
Here's a few reasons why a minimum price on booze is bollocks:
1 The state has no business interfering in the pricing mechanism of the market.
2 When the state interferes in market pricing mechanisms, disaster is sure to follow.
3 A minimum price will cause a decline in demand and put people out of work.
4 Prohibition, or in this case semi state control, does not work; the USA found that out to its cost when its prohibition period spawned a whole criminal subclass and industry. Why do you think that there is so much criminal activity associated with drugs? Answer, because Nanny has banned them.
5 We each of us go to the devil in our own way; booze, drugs, food, smoking, excess exercise etc. The state has no business in dictating to us as to how we live our lives.
6 Raising the price of booze in the UK will simply mean that more people will import booze from Europe (eg as is the case in Sweden, where people avoid paying the absurdly high tax on booze - imposed by the state to stop people drinking - by going on booze cruises to Denmark etc).
7 We are facing the worst recession in decades, people on low incomes have precious little to amuse themselves with (given that Nanny is doing her best to deny them their fags); let the people have some fun during these dark days.
8 It is part of our national culture to drink heavily, whether Nanny likes it or not. The Romans marvelled at our ability to drink like fish, then brawl in public; nothing has changed, that is who we are.
9 Hitler didn't drink.
Feel free to add to the list.
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Instead of trying to make cigarettes, alcohol and chocolate unaffordable wouldn't they be better employed making electricity, water and decent food more affordable.
ReplyDeleteThe greatest steps in public health have been providing clean water (now in profit motivated hands) good sewerage and enough to eat. After that came vaccination programmes. Now the message is starve and deprive yourself to good health. The only bad drink is too much, the only bad food is none at all and the only bad government is one that just cannot mind it's own bloody business for being too busy minding everyone elses. They are going to regulate the populace into an open air prison, but couldn't countenace regulating the bankers into some semblance of honesty. Do yourselves a favour Britain, get rid of these bastards
The problem is that we give too much power to the likes of this cretin that wishes to impose his will on everyone.
ReplyDeleteHere's an idea for Nanny to try; Instead of punishing everyone for the actions of a few, how about punishing them that cause the problem?
It reminds me of my days at school when the whole class were punished for the wrong doings of an individual.
Incase Labour Nanny has forgotten; Taxation is used to raise the money for governments to carry out their roles which are defence, education and law and order etc.....Taxation should not be used as a tool to change people's behaviour.
We need to stop giving so much influence to single issue groups in this country....What about the view of the majority?
Nanny has killed off so many of our businesses and traditions, this proposal would, in my opinion, be the final nail in the coffin of an already critically ill business sector, namely British pubs and the brewing industry as a whole.
Nanny would do well to remember that one reason we never followed the French into revolution was cheap gin.
ReplyDeleteTrouble is, when we get rid of these loathesome meddling bastards the other lot aren't going to be any better.
ReplyDeleteAll the main political parties are wedded to control-freak government. Disraeli's injunction to "trust the people" has long been forgotten.
I saw a bit about this on the news this morning, two thoughts immediately ran through my head (and are pretty much covered on Ken's list)- firstly, considering the government taxes booze and we are in a recession maybe now is not the best time to be bleeding people dry by legislating a price increase in anything! And of course if people are priced out of buying booze the government will lose tax money (not that they do much good with it). OH YEAH, SILLY ME, NO THEY WON'T!- if the price of booze goes up the tax percentage will be greater so anything they lose from less people buying booze they will probably make back (maybe even more so) from the higher prices! And there was me worrying the government might accidentally be doing themselves out of a bit of money, phew, thank goodness they've spotted it!
ReplyDeleteSecondly, and this worries me a whole lot more, it is not going to stop the booze guzzling yobs from buying just as huge an amount of booze as they always do- all raising the price means is that they will mug more old ladies to get the extra cash... AH! That's it! Less old people = less people to put in state funded old peoples' homes and less pensions to pay. So that's what this is all about! More money and less old people, clever Gordon Broon!
Just spotted over at NeueArbeit Macht Frei that our wonderful leader has said NO to this crazy proposal!
ReplyDeleteStory here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article5912343.ece
Nice photo. A more convincing advertisement for excessive booze consumption (or alcoholic poisoning) couldn't have been created by design.
ReplyDeleteGood grief, savour this moment because you won't find me typing this very often but it seems I was wrong, for once this government has used a bit of common sense (!) and made the right decision (note the use of the word 'once' in that sentence). Well done Mr Brown! (something else you will probably never come across me typing again).
ReplyDeleteNow, if only they'd get a whole load of other things right...
I always said that after they won their battle against smoking, they would find something else, and they have, they will not stop, even though Brown has said no
ReplyDeleteHaving lived in Sweden for a while and spent a lot of time in Norway, I can safely say that high alcohol taxes and restricted sales through state run monopoly off-licences have bugger all effect.
ReplyDeleteI suggest Sir Liam takes a walk around central Oslo or Bergen on a Friday or Saturday night so he can see for himself how ineffectual it is.
Changing the subject slightly, I note with interest that Nanny said yesterday that she doesn't want to punish the responsible majority for the sins of the irresponsible minority. Have I missed something? When did this change in attitude occur?
I can see a resurgence in homebrewing and winemaking.
ReplyDeletethe twat Donaldson is merely a stool pigeon to make Brown look good when he disagrees.....don't be fooled by Brown, remember he's a nazi too
ReplyDelete"Feel free to add to the list."
ReplyDeleteG. W. Bush gave up the sauce. Wouldn't we all have been better off, him included, if he'd fallen off the wagon?
If the Government is so concerned about binge-drinking they should legislate to make brewers only supply good, old-fashioned and wholesome ales, beer and cider. I must admit I'm convinced all the additives in those cheap, chemical fizzes lining supermarket shelves have something to do with antisocial behaviour. Getting rid of the cheap muck would have the same effect of pricing drink out of the reach of kids without penalising "responsible" drinkers who wouldn't touch the stuff with a bargepole. When I was a teen through the 1960s anyone drunk and disorderly was arrested and spent a night in the cells (although usually without being subsequently charged).
ReplyDeleteAlthough Mc Broon has said that he doesn't like the idea.....The chief medical officer has said that HE intends to press ahead!!!....Now how can an unelected, non government person bring in legislation (unless they are an EUSSR commissioner of course)....I cannot believe the arogance of some of these Nannies.
ReplyDeleteTonk, the blanket smoking ban took effect partly because Liam Donaldson threatened to resign if HMG didn't agree to his proposals. The man is in a non-job and justifies his existence by helping HMG in its quest to p&ss our money up the wall rather than spend it in treating the sick.
ReplyDeleteI notice that he was somewhat silent on the 'chocolate tax' issue.
There was a time that you could sit down to a meal and enjoy it. Similarly, there was a time when a glass of wine or a beer was a natural accompaniment to a meal. And naturally, there was a time when, following the meal, you would sit back and enjoy that most wonderful moment of a post-prandial cigarette.
ReplyDeleteSadly, at 51 years of age, I no barely remember the days when such things were possible.
Now, every meal is overshadowed by the fact that whatever I eat someone, somewhere, will claim that it's bad for.
Every drink is accompanied by the thought of how much the alchohol is damaging me.
Every cigarette I smoke makes me feel even more of a pariah than i am already made to feel.
When will Nanny stop? Have we been forced to lose sight of the fact that many things we do, despite not being either politically correct or acceptable to the health lobby, we actually do because we ENJOY THEM!
I actually disagree with the minimum drink price policy (primarily on the grounds that it sends out the message that you drink as much as you like as long as you're not a filthy povver), but having read this lot I'm starting to waver on the subject, because it's making me associate myself with a bunch of grumpy old Tories! ;)
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, the smoking ban is one of the best laws that's been introduced in my lifetime. Now I can enjoy my regular binge-drinking without suffering (quite so much) the next day! Trying to protect you from yourself can be described as nanny-statism, but inflicting passive smoking is tantamount to assault!
(Teehee! The verification word is "lubes"!)