San Francisco Considers New Alcohol Fee

San Francisco city leaders are considering imposing a fee on alcohol. The fee would add about 3 cents to a 12-ounce bottle of beer, 4.5 cents to a 6-ounce glass of wine, 3.5 cents to a standard drink with 1.5 ounces of hard liquor. The city controller’s office predicted that the fee would bring in approximately $16 million a year. The money being collected through this fee would help cover expenses that taxpayers end up paying for emergency room visits that go unpaid, prevention programs, a sobering center, and ambulance rides. However, some people argue that it wouldn’t be the right thing to do during an economic time like this. Alcohol and hospitality industries are also against the fee.

Personally, I believe that this alcohol fee should be levied. There would probably be an extremely slight decrease in alcohol purchases, which would reduce the amount of alcohol consumption. Also, the fee would help cover costs that are related to alcohol and drinking. The money collected through the fee would be a lot of help. John Avalos, a San Francisco Supervisor as well as the chief backer of the proposal, believes that this fee will help “make the city sidewalks safer and provide hope and dignity for people struggling in the streets and alleys”. I think this is a good idea and it just might bring a positive change in the city.

Nine Years After 9/11, Is Al-Qaeda's Threat Overrated?

It has been nine years since the 9/11 attacks on the twin towers, yet al-Qaeda still seems to be a huge threat to the United States. However, is the rate of al-Qaeda’s threat really as high as we think it is? Even all these years later, al-Qaeda and bin Laden are a hot topic for National Security agents.  President Barack Obama said the burning of the Koran would be a recruitment tool for such extremities. He said, “No challenge is more essential to our security than our fight against al-Qaeda.” Also, systematic police work and military strikes have reduced bin Laden’s movement to a handful of followers that are hiding for U.S. drones in Pashtunistan.

In my opinion, yes, al-Qaeda is an overrated threat to our soil. It’s important that National Security stays informed about al-Qaeda and the possible threat he can be to our nation. However, there is a limit to how much importance we give this threat. We have to realize that the attacks took place 9 years ago, and although there still is a threat to us, it’s not such a major issue anymore. I’m not saying we shouldn’t give al-Qaeda any importance, but I feel that we should limit the amount of importance we give him.