The cost of a bottle of wine in Scotland could surge to at least £8 under SNP proposals to hike the minimum unit price of alcohol from 50p to 80p.
A Scottish Government survey is consulting the alcohol industry on the level of the increase, asking them for their views on rises up to and above 80p per unit.
The minimum price hasn’t achieved any of the goals set for it. Indeed, seems to have made matters worse. It also means a roaring trade across the border. I’d love an offie in Berwick right about now.
But that’s just normal political stupidity. What makes it actually insane is that it’s a minimum price. Instead of a tax raise. All the extra money goes to the booze producers, not the taxman. Why, on Earth, are they doing something so gibberingly stupid?
Time to invest in a booze warehouse in Carlisle then. And a nice little webshop and a fleet of vans to deliver it up the M74.
Sadly England wont be far behind in implementing this madness.
May as well go the whole hog and introduce prohibition. I imagine the arguments used in 1920s America are the same as here, when you boil them down.
I’ll have to ramp up my home brew operations though, to cater for demand.
Local Camra guy saying different duty rate for on licence sales is imminent. He claimed the unintended consequence though would be pubs selling a take homes will become illegal. (I did say sounds a bit much surely just need to press a different knob on the till and charge the extra few pence (and then give it to HMRC of course))
I love the way they look at things that have long ago been proven not to work, and then decide to do them again.
Not to worry; they’ll all be jailed for fraud, embezzlement, and misuse of public funds.
Meantime I have a solution to many of Scotland’s problems (if devolution is to be continued with). Drop the Westminster model, adopt the Texas model. The Texas legislature “meets in regular session on the second Tuesday in January of each odd-numbered year. The Texas Constitution limits the regular session to 140 calendar days.” (The Scots might naturally drop that from 140 days to 110 days to reflect an age-old rule of Scots Law [and to amuse me]).
You see the problem: the Scottish parliament has far too much time on its hands and consequently gets up to endless mischief. The Texans are wiser: limit the days the bloody place can devote to interfering with the populace. And, need I say, limit the pay the bastards receive accordingly.\
Let’s have a referendum on it!
This is the same lot that want to legalise drugs, because Prohibition isn’t working, yet keep clamping down and banning tobacco and alcohol.
Contradictions and self-negating actions are Normal For Politicans, but with this lot, it’s almost as if they are causing chaos deliberately.
This should lead to more room on the Lidl shelves for the £10-30 range preferred by petty bureaucrats, and so much easier than making the population educated and rich.
Why, on Earth, are they doing something so gibberingly stupid?
Because they have fallen for the gibberingly stupid bullshit of the fake public health grifters
The day the previous minimum pricing cam into effect coincidentally saw Majestic open a new warehouse in Berwick
Apparently sales are good- something to do with it being an easy afternoon out drive from Edinburgh.
Meanwhile on the west coast there are tales of more than a few white vans taking orders for bulk buys in Carlisle & delivery in Glasgow.
Incentives matter as Tim often says
Why, on Earth, are they doing something so gibberingly stupid?
Look at us. There’s a problem. (At least, we’re going to assert that there’s a problem.) We’re doing something about it because we care. (Don’t ask if what we’re going to do is actually going to make the problem worse.) Look, we’re doing something. Aren’t we caring. Vote for us. Oh, and a cash donation would be nice, too. Did I mention how caring we are?
Well I’m sure it has reduced drunkenness in Scotland. It must have, stands to reason, don’t it?
“ I love the way they look at things that have long ago been proven not to work, and then decide to do them again.”
Ah, but this time it will be different, cos reasons*. See also sugar tax, rent controls, price controls etc.
*And if they really get pushed they’ll find some a add I said to write a model that showed what happed is better than what would have happened without the MUP.
*COUGH*Incentives matter*COUGH*
I wonder what incentives those responsible might receive?
I have changed my mind on my proposal that the Scottish Parliament should sit for 110 days every second year. Instead I suggest it sit on Fridays and only Fridays. Being Fridays they’ll cut things short so they can get away for the weekend. It also make the paycut easier to calculate: their pay will drop by 80%. Howzat?!
But sherioushly, oshiffer, politicians spend too much bloody time legislating. Cut the time available.
This will not make any difference at all to the cost of a bottle of single malt whisky. So the upper ranks of the Scottish Civil Service will not suffer at all, while making a worthless gesture towards reducing alcoholism.
Does that answer your question, Tim?
The identical situation pertains between Finland and Estonia and the ferry does a roaring trade. Despite governmental statistic-massaging I don’t think that the alcoholism rate in Finland has budged at all. In fact (Tim knows the name for this economic phenomenon) raise the price of an essential and a bigger percentage of household budget goes towards it.
Giffen Goods. Booze might not be one – basic cabohydrate stodge in a poor country definitely is.
There is one advantage of a minimum price over a tax – the government is less likely to get addicted to it, which is why taxes are so hard to get rid of once they have taken hold.