The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the God of the Founding Fathers’ Natural Law, calls us to “Come, now, let us reason together.” (Isaiah 1:18).
The logic (?) of one George Pouliotte does not sound like reason because he leaves questions unanswered about the issue of wet and dry in Madison County. (High Business Turnover in Madison, 1-7-11, Madison Enterprise-Recorder).
If Mr. Pouliotte did his research, he’d find that for every $l.00 of liquor tax received, it will cost taxpayers (and the County) a minimum of $3.00 for extra law enforcement, court costs, lost hours at work, family problems, health care, etc.
There is nothing illogic about wanting Madison County to grow and prosper…but at the expense of social problems, and the extra tax dollars…just so Mr. Pouliotte can wine and dine his bureaucrat friends in town, rather than cross the County line?
It is a given that the more proliferated the liquor outlets, the more liquor is consumed.
In one study, we learn that more than 18 Million people live in about 10% of the U. S. that is dry, (forbids the sale of alcoholic beverages in some form). Almost half the counties in Mississippi are dry. Alabama has at least 13 counties that are dry. And other states have dry jurisdictions. Many are dry on Sunday. (Prof. David J. Hanson, State Un. NY, Potsdam).
The people of Madison County have already demonstrated from a recent failed attempt to put the issue on the ballot, and a failed wet-dry election some 30 years ago, that they want their county to remain dry – thus safe for their families. They should concentrate on those politicians and elected County officials who support the wet law, by removing them from office.
Years of working at the Santa Rosa County Chamber of Commerce revealed that the very first question asked by those wishing to relocate to the area is: What is the quality of the schools? Madison voters would do well to concentrate on improving the quality of education instead of depending on booze to “improve” the County.
Tax breaks to businesses that want to relocate to Madison County is another incentive.
Mr. Pouliotte bragged about bringing a company “…from a mere twenty million dollar a year to over a hundred million dollar a year.” Why did he leave such a successful career? Why didn’t he stay with “prosperity?”
Mr. Pouliotte says welfare is a problem with the County. I challenge him to go to any County and check out the massive welfare there. It doesn’t seem to keep those Counties from doing better than Madison. “We’ll always have the poor with us.” Welfare, he says, is the reason there are no “customers” in Madison.
This is just another distracting excuse to say that alcohol will cure all evils. It won’t!
He asks: “Where does one go for entertainment?” The easiest answer is to move to an area where the “entertainment” (alcohol, to Mr. Pouliotte) is readily available.
Proliferation of alcohol outlets (wet laws) will not reduce crimes that are alcohol-related.
The Prohibition Party of Florida is ballot-qualified in this State. Visit our web site at: prohibitionparty.org .
Respectfully,
Bill Bledsoe, Chairman
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