I see the problem here. Some people go to bars to smoke and drink Budweiser:
At the Locked and Loaded Grill in Garner, about 6 miles south of Raleigh, Tom Hogan and his buddies were enjoying Budweisers and a smoke when told of the ban.
“Beer and cigarettes -– they go hand in hand,” said Hogan.
Uh, only if your beer is so bad you don’t want to taste it, Tom. Maybe if I drank Bud lighting something on fire and sucking on it would sound like a good idea too.
Clearly a positive solution does not involve enforcing a ban on smoking. Instead, I propose the Microbrew Support and Expansion Act. Bud drinkers looking to break the cycle of smoke-Bud-smoke could apply for modest state grants of perhaps $10 a week with which they could purchase non-swill malted beverages. These Beer Stamps could be redeemed at all ABC licensed retailers, restaurants, and bars for brands produced in less than oil-tanker sized batches.
On the production-side, all microbreweries in the state would be exempt from income taxes for 10 years and full scholarships in the brewing arts would be available to any N.C. high school student pledging to serve in the microbrew industry for five years following graduation.
There you have it, Gov. Perdue. A positive, forward-looking progressive idea that makes that draconian ban the General Assembly just sent you look downright clumsy. Do the right thing and make North Carolina the leader in the battle against bad beer. Tell lawmakers to start over and fight the real enemy.
