Hey, there! Log in / Register
Who buys booze on a bathroom break?
By adamg on Wed, 09/02/2009 - 8:07am
That's the explanation being given by state Rep. Michael Rodrigues, whose car - emblazoned with his House of Representatives plates - a Herald reader photographed at a New Hamphsire state liquor store. Where, of course, they don't charge sales taxes, such as the ones Rodrigues voted to increase.
Free tagging:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
as the kids would say
Pwned!
Who cares?
People go on vacation and buy their booze at the rest area liquor store all the time.
Unless he's one of those "collect sales tax on stuff bought anywhere but here" people, who cares?
Uh...
He voted for the sales tax increase and is shopping New Hampshire avoiding the sales tax.
That is the problem.
Raise taxes, say it won't hurt local businesses, and then shop out of state hurting local biz.
If he had voted against the sales tax increase this wouldn't be a problem.
more facts before we an call hypocrisy
Our sales tax went from 5% to 6.5% because Commonwealth income tax revenues fell off the cliff in this recession. Also, booze wasn't subject to sales tax before and now it is. Good. They need to drop the sales tax back when the economy turns around. "The witness’ account was also posted yesterday on Citizens for Limited Taxation’s Web site."
It does sound like he's blaming his wife for having to pee but he asserts they were spending time in NH anyway. Isn't that the question, whether the trip was a special trip to avoid MA sales tax or whether he could have bough it in either place and chose to buy it there becuase he was spending time there?
[size=10]THE [color=#FF0000]C[/color][color=#FF9933]O[/color][color=#FFFF00]L[/color][color=#339900]O[/color][color=#3300CC]R[/color] OF CHANGE - PETITION GLENN BECK'S ADVERTISERS[/size]
They need to drop the sales
Bwahahaha! You a funny person! You're not from here, are you?
goiter on the body politic
Your provincialism and cynicism are goiters on the body politic that in fact enable lack of accountability.
[size=10]THE [color=#FF0000]C[/color][color=#FF9933]O[/color][color=#FFFF00]L[/color][color=#339900]O[/color][color=#3300CC]R[/color] OF CHANGE - PETITION GLENN BECK'S ADVERTISERS[/size]
Glen Beck
I urge everyone to boycott advertisers that boycott Glen Beck. How's them apples? When will you dopey liberals learn that conservative talk has and always will get way better ratings than the liberal morons?
Ratings and intellect
Glenn Beck recently said President Obama is "a racist" and has a "deep-seated hatred for white people." Beck is on a campaign to convince the American public that President Obama's agenda is about serving the needs of Black communities at White people's expense. It's repulsive, divisive and shouldn't be on the air.
www .ColorOfChange. org
Ratings do not equate to intellect but we do know what conservative morons watch, 2,000,000 a night. Try this: defend Beck's rhetoric. Use this thread rather than mucking up this one
[size=10]THE [color=#FF0000]C[/color][color=#FF9933]O[/color][color=#FFFF00]L[/color][color=#339900]O[/color][color=#3300CC]R[/color] OF CHANGE - PETITION GLENN BECK'S ADVERTISERS[/size]
morans? Well I'll give you
morans?
Well I'll give you better ratings. There's always something funny to watch/listen to when comedy central is showing bad movie reruns.
Morans
[size=10]THE [color=#FF0000]C[/color][color=#FF9933]O[/color][color=#FFFF00]L[/color][color=#339900]O[/color][color=#3300CC]R[/color] OF CHANGE - PETITION GLENN BECK'S ADVERTISERS[/size]
Classic.
Classic.
conservatives
big on the second amendment, not so concerned when it comes to respecting copy and intellectual property rights.
[size=10]THE [color=#FF0000]C[/color][color=#FF9933]O[/color][color=#FFFF00]L[/color][color=#339900]O[/color][color=#3300CC]R[/color] OF CHANGE - PETITION GLENN BECK'S ADVERTISERS[/size]
Liberals
big on sweeping generalizations.
A generalization
which in your case is true?
[size=10]THE [color=#FF0000]C[/color][color=#FF9933]O[/color][color=#FFFF00]L[/color][color=#339900]O[/color][color=#3300CC]R[/color] OF CHANGE - PETITION GLENN BECK'S ADVERTISERS[/size]
So, was he vacationing up
So, was he vacationing up there, or did he drive north just to get cheap booze?
Thats some great (NON)reporting you've done there Michele McPhee, Dave Wedge and Hillary Chabot.
And since when does it take three people to say absolutely nothing? (but imply much)
Vacation
You don't drive from Westport, MA to Concord, NH to save tax money on booze.
Not in that car you don't. It is a 150+ mile round trip in a 15-20 mpg car!
which makes me wonder...
what the heck he was doing taking this trip in his state-owned vehicle?
personal vacation should equal personal vehicle.
State-owned?
I thought state reps just got fancy plates to put on their own cars.
articles that i have seen...
refer to the vehicle as state owned.
So?
What prevented him from buying the booze down here before reaching his vacation destination?
While the rest of us are being informed of all of the great "staycation" opportunities in the state and to trade in our low mpg clunkers, it's nice to see our pols in gas-guzzling cars can afford to leave the tax area to buy their booze on their way to a nice vacation.
A bottle or two of wine may seem like a triviality in all of this, but it's an implication of the "do as I say, I do what I want" attitude that pervades people's perceptions of our duly elected upper class.
On the way home
The stop seems to have been on I-95 South, so presumably he was actually on his way home AFTER the weekend away. In which case, yes, why stock up before you hit the border?
Oh...I dunno...
Maybe because it would be better to spend the tax money in MA since his salary should be coming from that same pool of money!
Do I expect different of him because he's a state politician than I would from any average MA joe? You're damn right I do.
Or maybe he wanted to buy in NH because they have better selection and prices...because the MA alcohol control board is insane with power over the distribution of alcohol here in MA! Instead of spending our tax money on wine in NH avoiding our brand new alcohol taxes, he should be helping get proposed legislature through the State House to let wineries ship directly to us in MA. And he should be supporting local wineries by telling the ABCC to back off from stopping our wineries from shipping out of the state. It's just like when we had overwrought auto insurance regulation here and none of the national chains would sell here. Now, I'm hearing people are getting great deals on their insurance rates. The ABCC and Beacon Hill should take note, because their strangling the vines instead of encouraging business in this current economic climate. But I've digressed a bit, I suppose.
I mean, what's next for the apologists? He just *had* to have some booze *right* then on the highway?
Who doesn't do this, Kaz?
Seriously.
I don't see the problem here. This is legal. Full stop.
Unless he is one of the "build a wall around MA and make people go through customs to enter" gang of perspective deficient boneheads, I just don't see the problem here. He has every right to do as he did.
Nice strawman
Where in what I said did I ever mention that he broke the law?
Why does it have to be against the law to be a problem or wrong that he's done it?
Seriously, nice strawman, I almost expected him to jump down and start singing about needing a brain.
More like a tempest in a tea cup
For those who travel to NH on occasion, the liquor stop is more habit than anything. It has much more to do with price and selection than tax. Large volume wholesale is cheaper than small mom-and-pop.
Are you going to stake out Wall-Mart now and see who shops there?
Nucleation event
Sure, these are issues that continue to maintain a standing boil but drop in a Mentos like this pic and the issues come front and center pretty quick again. I already addressed the fact that if he's buying for price and selection, then he should be helping push through the legislation necessary to get OUR sellers better price and selection by knocking the ABCC senseless until it has less authority than a traffic cop. NH state liquor stores don't have better prices than MA because they're Wal-Marts. It's because nobody wants to do business in our state or direct sell to consumers with the umpteen billion hurdles the ABCC keeps throwing in the way like it's still 1921!
And thanks for yet another apology I hadn't thought of yet! "It's habit"! What else have you got for us?
NH state liquor stores don't
You mean like the state monopoly NH has on selling liquor in 77 stores?
NH gets great wholesale deals, and thus is able to sell liquor below cost and still runs a profit. Or if you're like anyone else, they tax it, but people look the other way because they're still getting it below normal market and tax price.
Kind of funny arguing that our state should strip owners of the right to sell liquor and socialize it to reap the rewards, in the name of capitalism....
Puritanical Absurdity
No apologies are needed for this - it is legal, it is completely and utterly trivial, and it is totally ridiculous that any big deal is being made of it.
What next: he vacationed in NH. He spent money in an evile rival state with no sales tax and brought some wine home! Traitor! Burn him!
Can we get any more ridiculously parochial - especially since all of New England and New York together could fit in a normal size state?
Already addressed that too
My fecal matter isn't the point. I already said that I hold him as a state legislator to a higher standard for this sort of thing than the average joe like myself. Soooo, next?
Actually, I have wondered why the state and city keep touting the great "staycation" for all of us to save money and spend it locally...and then they run off elsewhere. I thought about making that part of my initial post, but then thought better of it for being too far off-topic. Thanks for bringing it up though.
SG, you're right! He voted
SG, you're right!
He voted to raise the sales tax, and must have spent money in rival non-taxed NH during his vacation! The Horror! wharrgarbl!
Now wheres my pitchfork and torch?
"Normal State Size"
Depends what you're used to, I guess. Since we were states first, you could argue that we're the normal ones, and those western states are as big as they are because they had to be big enough to contain at least 2 people to send to Washington as Senators.
Are you serious?
You don't see the problem in voting for a sales tax increase and then avoiding it yourself?
He's actively avoiding policies he voted for.
As said above, he's hardly
As said above, he's hardly doing so. The sane among us know he didn't drive 150 miles round trip to save less then $10 on a liquor tax.
Furthermore, it's in NH and as far as I remember you don't have to pay a toll to go to the store on that side if you turned on the exit beforehand, but would have to pay a toll if you hit up the northbound store. I believe the next exit past this store is also still in NH.
He might have not made a principled stand, but to suggest otherwise is disingenuous.
OMG OMG! He voted down casinos in MA but took a vacation to Vegas! VEGAS!
/rollseyes
You need to get a grip if
You need to get a grip if one trip while on vacation = voting for a sales tax increase and then avoiding it yourself.
This guy wasn't setting up a backroom deal to smuggle NH booze to his parlor room.
Agreeing with you!
Just to be clear - that was my point. What excuse could he have for stopping ON THE WAY BACK IN TO MASSACHUSETTS to stock up on booze before he got home?
Oh ok
Not the tone I read it in, sorry. Thanks.
The article leaves it pretty
The article leaves it pretty ambiguous. He simple could have been avoiding paying the toll if he was staying in NH, in the area.
Knowing the Herald, this was done on purpose.
Yes, on purpose
They drugged him and his wife, hooked up an IV into her bladder, used hypnotic suggestion to make them both think they were coming back from vacation, then dumped them in his MA REP plated car at the NH pit stop and liquor store and hid in the bushes with a camera waiting for them to wake up and go inside.
On purpose.
Yeesh.
If you say so. I was just
If you say so.
I was just pointing out he could have been staying in Hampton or Exeter, jumped in his car Saturday Morning (That's the weekend after all), and tired to avoid the tolls and went to pick up some tequila for margaritas later.
They didn't say he was driving home, but imply it and are looking for your type response. I'm saying, why omit Sunday evening for weekend when that is an easily verifiable fact that the story is supposed to be based on.
He blamed the controversy on
Definition of demagoguery: telling the truth about me.
Typical Mass. hack - check the state payroll for relatives.
I am not a Republican
And I've had my wine turned to vinegar over this.
This is exactly what the opponents of taxing alcohol said would happen, and not even a month later there's a LEGISLATOR actively demonstrating their case.
I hope that booze tasted awesome.
It's okay
Turns out it was a Ted Kennedy tribute.
Booze Buying Bathroom Break
Take away our coastline and take away about 1/2 our institutions of higher learning. Now, consider the caliber of our elected officials - could MA then be compared to a banana republic? This "do as I say, not as I do" hack is just one of the gang.
Let me see if I've got this right
Judging from the discussions and whatnot, it sounds like a version of this happened:
MR. RODRIGUES: We're making good time, but let's make a pit stop before we leave New Hampshire.
MRS. RODRIGUES: The State Liquor Store is the last stop before the border, and they've got public bathrooms.
MR. RODRIGUES: Good idea.
MRS. RODRIGUES: Hey, look! They've got our favorite wine.
MR. RODRIGUES: Great! Let's take some home with us.
But this is what people want to think happened:
MR. RODRIGUES: How I love it in beautiful tax-free New Hampshire! Of course, if I served this state, it wouldn't be tax-free for too long!
MRS. RODRIGUES: I remember when you voted to raise the Massachusetts state tax.
MR. RODRIGUES: It was the happiest day of my life! Say, while we're here, let's buy some tax-free booze at this state liquor store!
MRS. RODRIGUES: Good idea! That way we won't have to pay the higher sales tax that you voted for!
MR. RODRIGUES: Exactly. Take that, Massachusetts taxpayers!
MRS. RODRIGUES: And take that, small business owners!
[The TWO laugh MANIACALLY.]
MR. RODRIGUES: And don't be afraid to overload the car with all this tax-free booze, dear. We can always come back with a trailer!
MRS. RODRIGUES: You are the Lizard King! You can do anything!
MR. RODRIGUES: Like voting to raise the sales tax! Cause I did that already!
fin
Okay, now that this matter is settled, let's talk about dinosaurs. I like Stegosaurus and Triceratops. What about you?
I like turtles
I like turtles
You left out something
They must have driven away in your second scenario before you could catch him saying:
MR. RODRIGUES: Speaking of alcohol sales, honey, remind me when we get back to draft that pre-signed bill to give ABCC the right to shoot on sight at Logan if someone comes back here with duty free alcohol.
Also, diplodocus. Rolls off the tongue funny like snuffleupagus.
Let It Die
I mean, Good God, people. I'm as anti-tax as they come. I actively petitioned to have the "no state income tax" referendum question be placed on the ballot. I ran for state rep against Tommy Finneran and promised to try and make cuts in taxes across the board. I was, and am, completely against the taxing of booze (against the taxing of just about anything, really.) But, this? This is nothing. It is perfectly legal behavior and deserves no mention whatsoever.
Unless the guy bought a few truckloads, let it go. It's N-O-T-H-I-N-G. You might be able to work up a righteous fervor about it, but if you actually make that fervor public, you look like a whiny dickhead.
Relax. Have a drink.
Allosaurus.
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
"Righteous" & misguided Teabagger (anti-tax) outrage
nothing more.
[size=10]THE [color=#FF0000]C[/color][color=#FF9933]O[/color][color=#FFFF00]L[/color][color=#339900]O[/color][color=#3300CC]R[/color] OF CHANGE - PETITION GLENN BECK'S ADVERTISERS[/size]
If he bought fireworks ...
Would the Herald Republican types have defended to the death his right to light them off with great pyrotechnic and patriotic flair?
Yes!!
...but only if he was, at the same time, drinking booze bought in Massachusetts with all taxes due paid, was also carrying a gun strapped to his leg, and was carrying a photo of Obama with a Hitler mustache.
[size=10]THE [color=#FF0000]C[/color][color=#FF9933]O[/color][color=#FFFF00]L[/color][color=#339900]O[/color][color=#3300CC]R[/color] OF CHANGE - PETITION GLENN BECK'S ADVERTISERS[/size]
For those of you who aren't
For those of you who aren't "from here," a little education:
http://www.newburyportnews.com/puopinion/local_sto...
Not against the law? Of course it's against the law. If it's purchased for use in Mass., Mass. sales tax must be paid - by law.
NotThanks NotWhitey
I don't think the police enforcement policy has anything to do with Swyrrl's question or whether or not one is from "around here"
Does the status "from around here" have any particular qualities that "not from around here" does not? If so, what? I gotta tell you, it's seems like a provincial attitude.
[size=10]THE [color=#FF0000]C[/color][color=#FF9933]O[/color][color=#FFFF00]L[/color][color=#339900]O[/color][color=#3300CC]R[/color] OF CHANGE - PETITION GLENN BECK'S ADVERTISERS[/size]
Typical troll.
Typical troll.
NotWhitey
Are you not from here?
[size=9]www.[color=#FF0000]C[/color][color=#FF9933]O[/color][color=#CC00CC]L[/color][color=#339900]O[/color][color=#3300CC]R[/color] OF CHANGE.org Sign the petition![/size]
Not constitutional
Restraint of trade. Pretty basic stuff - look it up!
Um.
Since you're posting anon, I have no idea who you are or quite what you're getting at, so I don't know if you're one of those nutcases who thinks all taxes are unconstitutional, but I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you're normal and have just misunderstood. I'm pretty sure it's not restraint of trade to tax items bought elsewhere. I bought a car in New York and had to pay Massachusetts sales tax on it. They didn't restrain my trade; they taxed it, the same as if I'd traded in Massachusetts.
IANAL, but I think it's probably unconstitutional to arrest MA residents solely for purchasing liquor in NH. I believe they would actually have to take note of the purchases, then wait until next year and compare the people's MA tax returns to ensure they'd paid their "use tax due on out of state purchases" or whatevertf it is. Which would lead us into all kinds of other constitutional issues regarding tracking people's movements and purchases and things. As would stalking the MA residents to make sure they'd drunk their alcohol in MA, and also reading their minds to make sure they went to NH with the intention of evading taxes, rather than being in NH anyway and happening to be in the store getting something and being like "oh, I need that for the drinks I'm making tonight; might as well get it while I'm in a store."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
http://1smootshort.blogspot.com
not restrasint of trade but
I think there are laws that prohibit transporting liquor beer and wine in excess of a limit over state lines. That's how cops can observe from the NH state liquor stores and stop them when they enter Mass.
[size=9]www.[color=#FF0000]C[/color][color=#FF9933]O[/color][color=#CC00CC]L[/color][color=#339900]O[/color][color=#3300CC]R[/color] OF CHANGE.org Sign the petition![/size]
transportation laws allow you...
20 gallons of malt beverages, 3 gallons of any other alcoholic beverage, or 1 gallon of alcohol.
i don't believe the law specifies over state lines, but rather just general transport.
you can check out MGL c.138 S. 22.
thanks bandit
[size=9]www.[color=#FF0000]C[/color][color=#FF9933]O[/color][color=#CC00CC]L[/color][color=#339900]O[/color][color=#3300CC]R[/color] OF CHANGE.org Sign the petition![/size]
What really bothers me
It's not the NH liquor purchase, it's that he told a person "mind your own business." Guess what, you fucking asshole, you work for US. Do us a favor and quit elective office.
he death of informed debate
Will, you think legislators are accountable to convey information about their personal trips off the clock on weekends in New Hampshire?
You call Michael J. Rodrigues our employee. He is an elected state representative accountable to his district.
But for the sake of argument, I'll go with your frame "employee". Name a business that would expect an employee to give an account of their actions in a parking lot in NH on a weekend WHILE LOADING A LIQUOR PURCHASE IN THEIR CAR.
You've been watching too many town hall videos "KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF MY KIDS" "ARE YOU HERE ON OFFICIAL OR PERSONAL BUSINESS" "WHERE IN THE CONSTITUTION DOES IS SAY SOCIALISM OR MARXISM" "DONT PULL THE PLUG ON GRANDMA"
The Republican party will be the death of informed debate.
[size=9]www.[color=#FF0000]C[/color][color=#FF9933]O[/color][color=#CC00CC]L[/color][color=#339900]O[/color][color=#3300CC]R[/color] OF CHANGE.org Sign the petition![/size]
paying up...
Rodrigues promises he will pay the taxes.