WTF?!?!

Seriously.

Noted Economists Call For Higher Taxes on Alcoholic Beverages

Ummm....

"Four Nobel laureates are among a group of prominent economists who are calling for what they say are long-overdue increases in federal excise taxes on alcoholic beverages, to help offset the massive economic and social costs of alcohol."

Do what?!?

"Through neglect, Congress has allowed effective rates of tax on a substance that does more harm than any illegal drug to fall dramatically, even as the federal budget has sunk far into the red," said Henry Aaron, senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution."

For real?!? More than any illegal drug?

"Citing government reports on the effects of alcohol taxes, the economists urged lawmakers to avoid adding to the national debt by rejecting industry appeals to lower federal taxes on alcohol, which have only increased once in 54 years for beer and wine and only twice for liquor."

Isn't this a good thing? I would think economists would think so. At least the ones that I know but then again they do have a penchant for the beer and bourbon.

"Those signing the Economists' Declaration on Federal Alcohol Excise Taxes include George Akerlof, Daniel Kahneman, Lawrence Klein, and Robert Solow, all winners of the Nobel Prize for Economics, as well as 55 other leading economists."

So does this mean that as soon as you cash the million dollar check you lose your mind? I better talk to my brother.