Costs of alcohol are far higher than tax revenues generated for county
Alcohol cash pouring in is a sad day for Columbia County.
The Aug. 27 headline in The News-Times, "Alcohol pours in cash," is not good news. Most failures in this world are either a failure to understand math or relationships. This news shows a failure of both. On the math side; the costs generated by alcohol runs about $8 for every dollar in revenue. The areas of cost are too many for this short letter.
If the math worked, Richmond County, which has had alcohol revenue for many years, should be looking for places to spend money rather than having to cut costs. The same will happen to Columbia County because no force is stronger than sowing and reaping. There is no good way to do a wrong thing.
When folks voted Columbia County wet a few years ago they were saying we are smarter than all those folks that lived before us. Every tax stream of revenue has a cost, but none as high as alcohol tax revenue.
Where are the Christian commissioners that should be saying this is wrong and we need to rethink and re-vote this? Sadly, they seem to rejoice at every liquor license that is issued.
Every day in this country 62 people die in auto accidents due to alcohol. If 62 died in a plane crash every day, what would be your opinion of the airline industry?
Why have school programs to discourage the use of drugs, while at the same time consuming the No. 1 drug of alcohol? Can we all say "hypocrite"?
The Bible is clear on all this in Proverbs chapters 20 and 23. No Christian has a basis for drinking. In fact, the wine referred to in Bible is actually one part wine and four parts water and was used to purify the water. It takes 22 glasses of wine from those times to equal two drinks today.
Parents, if you drink; your children, at a ratio of 82 percent, will say yes to the drug of alcohol. If you don t drink, 72 percent will say no to alcohol. If your teenager drinks and is killed by it you have a tragedy, but if you have alcohol in your house you now have a bigger tragedy. Now the tragedy includes regrets forever for the partial blame you had in their death.
One out of 12 who start drinking becomes an alcoholic. Would you put your child on a plane that crashes on every 12th flight?
If you are a social drinker you may like the taste, but you may also be showing those around you that you are too insecure to function in a social situation with the wonderful mind God gave you. The alcohol effects your mind, kills a few brain cells and you think it is necessary to enjoy yourself.
The mind God gave you is quite capable of enjoying a social setting without any help. You are made in His image, and I am hard pressed to see how alcohol improves the mind God gave you.
This situation is easy to fix. Commissioners need to become statesman before our county reaps all the financial trouble from having alcohol, pastors need to speak the whole Bible and parents need to stop being drug pushers through their influence in the home
We all make mistakes in life but our goal needs to be regret-free living. Alcohol creates regrets that we all can avoid.
Lon Purvis
Martinez