Friends: To follow in this note is my letter from the Sunday, 27
January Beaver County Times, which I hope you will enjoy. I am hopeful
that it will appear in other state newspapers as well. A good week to
all...Oren Spiegler
Rendell's drink tax bombshell
Sunday, January 27, 2008 7:12 AM EST
It is with astonishment that I note the content of a Wednesday radio
interview of Gov. Edward Rendell.
As the conversation turned to the alcoholic beverage tax levied in
Allegheny County and in Philadelphia, the governor volunteered that in
Philadelphia "we have selective enforcement."
He went on to say that "we don't quite enforce in the neighborhood
taverns as well as we do in the big hotels and restaurants." The
interviewer asked the governor if he "looks the other way," to which
he responded, after momentary hemming and hawing, "You could say
that."
I am not sure whether it is more disturbing that the governor endorses
the nullification of a law or that he would be so brazen as to
announce the disparity to tens of thousands of radio listeners.
State constitutions and our federal constitution prominently mandate
equal protection under the law and uniform enforcement of laws: that
no group or individual will enjoy favoritism.
It is obvious that the governor believes that some are more equal
than others.
It is now reasonable to ask what other laws are being selectively
enforced with the knowledge and endorsement of the governor, and how
one can be expected to have confidence in our institutions.
Can an alcoholic beverage tax survive a court challenge when the
state's governor has publicly acknowledged that only certain
businesses are being targeted to remit it? How would the government
differentiate such favoritism from the operation of a corrupt
government?
Oren M. Spiegler
Upper Saint Clair
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Oren M. Spiegler
2324 Weston Drive
Upper Saint Clair PA 15241-2434
Telephone (412) 851-5372