Tax Lawyer's Blog

James Maule of Mauled Again writes in Taxes as Hate Crime about Massachusetts Congressman Stephen Lynch’s reaction to a proposed sin tax on beer:

The advocacy for and against increases in the scope and level of so-called “sin taxes” has brought all sorts of rhetoric to the table, but none tops this comment from Representative Stephen Lynch of Masachusetts, as reported in this BNA article.

“I have one of the most Irish districts in the United States of America and there are folks in my district that would consider a massive increase on the beer tax as a hate crime.”

If anyone has committed a hate crime, it is Congressman Lynch.

He is suggesting that Irishmen, simply because of their Irishness, are drunks and therefore a beer tax would fall disproportionately on them.

(Germans, Brits, Poles, Italians, Russians, they’re teetotalers, right?)

Lynch’s comment is directed at a specific ethnic group and furthers an insidious stereotype of that ethnic group. My 14 year old niece has the requisite intelligence to recognize that a tax on the usage of a product that is consumed across the board by members of all ethnic groups, nationalities, genders and races does not.

Now, as anyone who has read this blog for any length of time knows, I am no fan of sin taxes.

But have you ever wished the inananity-spouting moron who is on your side of an argument stopped being on your side?

The Irish voters in Mr. Lynch’s district should (metaphorically – don’t get any ideas you nutcakes) drag Lynch out and hang him from the nearest tree for uttering such infantile nonsense.

I could eat two cans of alphabet soup, induce vomitting and arbitrarily produce a more intelligent response to the sin tax.

And these are the imbeciles that are going to end the recession, save the planet and institute a national healthcare system?

Yeah, okay, whatever.

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