50p a unit minimum price for booze
Discussion
MK4 Slowride said:
The Laws that exist already need to be used instead of a tax generating exercise.
Weekend Warrior = 2 weeks in jail, no if's or but's.
Pissing in the street = 1 week in jail, no if's or but's.
Vandalism = 'x' time in jail depending on severity of crime + having to work to pay debt back.
...& so on you get the picture.
Also make it known that said individual has done one of the above and can explain to their boss themselves or the dole office as to how they can afford to get drunk when on benefits. If people would be put in prison for a week etc & they knew it's the only thing that will happen they might think twice about it.
We should fence off a section of the country and put them all in it. Then the government can put lots of CCTV in the area like usual, then charge us to watch it on pay per view. Everyones a winner!!Weekend Warrior = 2 weeks in jail, no if's or but's.
Pissing in the street = 1 week in jail, no if's or but's.
Vandalism = 'x' time in jail depending on severity of crime + having to work to pay debt back.
...& so on you get the picture.
Also make it known that said individual has done one of the above and can explain to their boss themselves or the dole office as to how they can afford to get drunk when on benefits. If people would be put in prison for a week etc & they knew it's the only thing that will happen they might think twice about it.
copyright silverbullet767
Einion Yrth said:
davido140 said:
it will cost a minimum of £15 for a 750ml bottle of spirits, which typically is around £8-12 now, depending what your poison is.
What sort of urine do you drink? I don't think I ever pay less than about £25 quid for a bottle, and it's usually in the mid thirties.
t do you drink?I drink Vodka and Gin mostly, with mixers.
The difference between a £15 bottle of vodka (which I happen to know about) and a £30 bottle is the label, and possibly a fancy shaped bottle. You'll be paying close to £100 for something you can really taste the difference with neat. With a mixer or in a cocktail it makes bugger all difference. if you manage to pay £30 for gin, you're mad.
whiskeys and the like? I doubt there is much in £15 a bottle extra, you're looking at hundreds of pounds for something special. Personally I'm not an expert on that though, so I'd be happy to be proved wrong.
ETA ok, I stand corrected, you can actually get some quite palletable vodka for £30-40 a bottle off the Internet, which is much cheaper than I have ever seen it in a shop. Still cant say I'd be happy to just whack it into a glass with coke or orange juice.
Edited by davido140 on Monday 16th March 13:13
Silverbullet767 said:
MK4 Slowride said:
The Laws that exist already need to be used instead of a tax generating exercise.
Weekend Warrior = 2 weeks in jail, no if's or but's.
Pissing in the street = 1 week in jail, no if's or but's.
Vandalism = 'x' time in jail depending on severity of crime + having to work to pay debt back.
...& so on you get the picture.
Also make it known that said individual has done one of the above and can explain to their boss themselves or the dole office as to how they can afford to get drunk when on benefits. If people would be put in prison for a week etc & they knew it's the only thing that will happen they might think twice about it.
We should fence off a section of the country and put them all in it. Then the government can put lots of CCTV in the area like usual, then charge us to watch it on pay per view. Everyones a winner!!Weekend Warrior = 2 weeks in jail, no if's or but's.
Pissing in the street = 1 week in jail, no if's or but's.
Vandalism = 'x' time in jail depending on severity of crime + having to work to pay debt back.
...& so on you get the picture.
Also make it known that said individual has done one of the above and can explain to their boss themselves or the dole office as to how they can afford to get drunk when on benefits. If people would be put in prison for a week etc & they knew it's the only thing that will happen they might think twice about it.
copyright silverbullet767
And they called it london
davido140 said:
whiskeys and the like? I doubt there is much in £15 a bottle extra, you're looking at hundreds of pounds for something special. Personally I'm not an expert on that though, so I'd be happy to be proved wrong.
You'd be wrong, there's a huge difference between a cheap supermarket special blend and a decent single malt. Gin and vodka? Yup much the same irrespective of price - it's just rubbing alcohol with less methanol. 
MK4 Slowride said:
The Laws that exist already need to be used instead of a tax generating exercise.
Weekend Warrior = 2 weeks in jail, no if's or but's.
Pissing in the street = 1 week in jail, no if's or but's.
Vandalism = 'x' time in jail depending on severity of crime + having to work to pay debt back.
...& so on you get the picture.
Also make it known that said individual has done one of the above and can explain to their boss themselves or the dole office as to how they can afford to get drunk when on benefits. If people would be put in prison for a week etc & they knew it's the only thing that will happen they might think twice about it.
Uh huh, except a few tiny flaws:Weekend Warrior = 2 weeks in jail, no if's or but's.
Pissing in the street = 1 week in jail, no if's or but's.
Vandalism = 'x' time in jail depending on severity of crime + having to work to pay debt back.
...& so on you get the picture.
Also make it known that said individual has done one of the above and can explain to their boss themselves or the dole office as to how they can afford to get drunk when on benefits. If people would be put in prison for a week etc & they knew it's the only thing that will happen they might think twice about it.
1 - lost revenue to industry whilst you are jailing everyone
2 - jail space for said people, where we going to magic that from?
3 - week in jail for having a piss in behind some wheelie bins on the way home from a night out vs. slap on thw wrists for shoplifters and muggers etc? Perfect sense...
Einion Yrth said:
davido140 said:
whiskeys and the like? I doubt there is much in £15 a bottle extra, you're looking at hundreds of pounds for something special. Personally I'm not an expert on that though, so I'd be happy to be proved wrong.
You'd be wrong, there's a huge difference between a cheap supermarket special blend and a decent single malt. Gin and vodka? Yup much the same irrespective of price - it's just rubbing alcohol with less methanol. 
I added a bit on my previous post to say I was wrong, they are much cheaper than I remember too, £30-40 will get you something that doesnt taste at all like anti-freeze and is quite drinkable neat!http://www.thedrinkshop.com/products/productlist.p...
I'm not sophisticated enough to drink whiskey!
The whole idea of taxing per unit is just an easy knee-jerk solution to a serious problem that can only be properly solved by education and rehabilitation. Education would cost money, but a tax makes it, so that's the choice taken. It's ridiculous.
While we're on the subject, can we ban drinking in the street?
While we're on the subject, can we ban drinking in the street?
Apparently Gordon is "lukewarm" on this....
Why do I get the feeling this is a set up to make Gordon the "peoples friend" when he turns the plan down...?
"EuroSausage" anyone?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7945357.stm
Why do I get the feeling this is a set up to make Gordon the "peoples friend" when he turns the plan down...?
"EuroSausage" anyone?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7945357.stm
davido140 said:
Einion Yrth said:
davido140 said:
whiskeys and the like? I doubt there is much in £15 a bottle extra, you're looking at hundreds of pounds for something special. Personally I'm not an expert on that though, so I'd be happy to be proved wrong.
You'd be wrong, there's a huge difference between a cheap supermarket special blend and a decent single malt. Gin and vodka? Yup much the same irrespective of price - it's just rubbing alcohol with less methanol. I added a bit on my previous post to say I was wrong, they are much cheaper than I remember too, £30-40 will get you something that doesnt taste at all like anti-freeze and is quite drinkable neat!http://www.thedrinkshop.com/products/productlist.p...
I'm not sophisticated enough to drink whiskey!
Featured some chubby t
t and a hot female who only drank £30+ a bottle gin. Both emerged form the blind taste test preferring the own brand supermarket stuff.
Balmoral Green said:
Smoking hasn't been banned. And this is not a proposal to ban drinking.
As for the comparison with the smoking ban, If you think about the places where the smoking ban is in force, they are not places where people drink anyway, the work place, shops, business etc. And whilst smoking is banned in pubs, clubs & restaurants, you can't ban drinking from those places. A pub with no smoking I can understand, but no beer?
How does a proposed and rejected minimum unit price equate to a ban on drinking? And how does a comparison with something that is not banned anyway validate the wearing of tin foil?
Interesting comments from Sir Liam Donaldson here:As for the comparison with the smoking ban, If you think about the places where the smoking ban is in force, they are not places where people drink anyway, the work place, shops, business etc. And whilst smoking is banned in pubs, clubs & restaurants, you can't ban drinking from those places. A pub with no smoking I can understand, but no beer?
How does a proposed and rejected minimum unit price equate to a ban on drinking? And how does a comparison with something that is not banned anyway validate the wearing of tin foil?
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/he...
It would seem that the person proposing it sees it very much in the same light as the smoking ban:
Times quoting Sir Liam 'Oliver Cromwell' Donaldson said:
The Chief Medical Officer said today that excessive drinking should be made as socially unacceptable as smoking, as he proposed controversial moves to raise the minimum cost of alcohol.
However, Sir Liam stressed that they were crucial as a tool to combat a nation-wide phenomenon which he described as "passive drinking" - the devastating knock-on effect of excessive alcohol consumption on wider society, such as the loved ones of drinkers, those killed by drink-driving, and the financial burden on NHS.
Referring to the Prime Minister's decision to reject his plan, he drew parallels with the debate over the smoking ban which he initiated long before it became mainstream policy at Westminster.
"I don’t mind being a football if a goal is scored in the end," he said. "I got a very hard time when I proposed smoke-free public places."
I think we'll see this dealt with in the same way that smoking was - rather than addressing the serious questions of the personal liberty to do harm to oneself, a spurious distraction will be created to restrict the debate to the effects on bystanders.However, Sir Liam stressed that they were crucial as a tool to combat a nation-wide phenomenon which he described as "passive drinking" - the devastating knock-on effect of excessive alcohol consumption on wider society, such as the loved ones of drinkers, those killed by drink-driving, and the financial burden on NHS.
Referring to the Prime Minister's decision to reject his plan, he drew parallels with the debate over the smoking ban which he initiated long before it became mainstream policy at Westminster.
"I don’t mind being a football if a goal is scored in the end," he said. "I got a very hard time when I proposed smoke-free public places."
Lunja said:
The whole idea of taxing per unit is just an easy knee-jerk solution to a serious problem that can only be properly solved by education and rehabilitation.
I'm not sure that the proposal is for a per-unit tax, it seems to be for a minimum price per unit.otolith said:
Lunja said:
The whole idea of taxing per unit is just an easy knee-jerk solution to a serious problem that can only be properly solved by education and rehabilitation.
I'm not sure that the proposal is for a per-unit tax, it seems to be for a minimum price per unit.If Tesco vodka is currently £8 for a half litre, then thats 40p a unit. If they make it min. 50p/unit, then do Tesco start charging £10 a bottle and pocketing the £2 or will the government be taking it?
Surely setting the price at which a non-fixed price commodity can be sold is some form of market manipulation?
emicen said:
Surely setting the price at which a non-fixed price commodity can be sold is some form of market manipulation?
Yes, that's the point of the exercise - the idea is not to raise money to spend on something, it's to raise the bar for buying alcohol. If we have to have it (and I don't want it), I would prefer to see this to across the board taxation per unit. Why should I have to pay extra for a bottle of decent wine when the aim is to reduce the consumption of white lightning?
emicen said:
otolith said:
Lunja said:
The whole idea of taxing per unit is just an easy knee-jerk solution to a serious problem that can only be properly solved by education and rehabilitation.
I'm not sure that the proposal is for a per-unit tax, it seems to be for a minimum price per unit.If Tesco vodka is currently £8 for a half litre, then thats 40p a unit. If they make it min. 50p/unit, then do Tesco start charging £10 a bottle and pocketing the £2 or will the government be taking it?
Surely setting the price at which a non-fixed price commodity can be sold is some form of market manipulation?
I just think the whole thing is absurd. Next, the government will be proposing a minimum price per gram of fat in fast food to 'cure' obesity.
otolith said:
emicen said:
Surely setting the price at which a non-fixed price commodity can be sold is some form of market manipulation?
Yes, that's the point of the exercise - the idea is not to raise money to spend on something, it's to raise the bar for buying alcohol. If we have to have it (and I don't want it), I would prefer to see this to across the board taxation per unit. Why should I have to pay extra for a bottle of decent wine when the aim is to reduce the consumption of white lightning?The countries who effectively employ such tactics have to do it via huge taxation of alcohol do they not? (thinking Scandinavia and Iceland?)
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