Story Published:
Nov 27, 2011 at 9:42 PM CDT
Story Updated:
Nov 28, 2011 at 10:34 AM CDT
Stupid Is As Stupid Does
Were it not for Jack Daniels, Lynchburg, Tn would be an insignificant dot on the Tennessee map. Metro Lynchburg, Moore County, is one of three metropolitan forms of government in Tennessee. Their metro council has 14 members. The people down there want to hold a referendum to authorize a $10 million tax on each barrell of whiskey produced. The distillery employs 450 people in a county of 6,362 . Granted, probably not all those people live in Moore county but they do live in the immediate area. The distillery is metro Lynchburg, Moore county's, largest employer and pays the most property tax and collects most of the sales tax for metro. One would think that that should be sufficient. But the people of metro evidentally don't think so. There is only a $3 million budget, the debt is getting larger, roads are too narrow, and shock of shocks there is no elevator is the courthouse. Now, that's something that really ought to be addressed. ADA law requires access to the upper floor. Perhaps Brown-Forman could install that elevator. The had profits of $449 million in 2010 but that's $10 per barrel tax. Estimates are that such a tax might raise up $4 million for their metro government.
Brown-Forman opposes this tax and right fully so. They donate to area politicians, both democrats and republicans. Most big companies hedge their bets in this manner. They have traction no matter the party in power. They have $278 k in pac funds ready to go in the 2012 elections and , they employ a powerful lobbyist. It looks like the legislature won't pass a private act that would allow such a referendum. But the democrat state Attorney General has ruled that such a referendum is legal. But the whiskey industry is already the most taxed in the country.
Yet this guy, Rogers, has his eyes dead set on imposing this tax. He is the driving force behind it and he seems to sway public opinion. He is adamant that Brown-Forman could afford the tax. He fails to recognize the law of unintended consequences. Should the distillery leave, who will see their property taxes increase big time? Go ahead you dumb people in Lynchburg, kill the goose that lays the golden egg...bite the hand that feeds. I'll bet there are 6,362 stupid people in metro Lynchburg-Moore county. Well, maybe not everyone would vote "yes" in a referendum, but a majority would. Ye suckers!
