Clearing The Air

Sunday, August 13, 2006

The failed policies of Twin Cities lawmakers continues to shut down more businesses

As of this date, by Clearing the Air count, the anti-business socialist lawmakers in the Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Bloomington Minnesota area have closed down 81 hospitality businesses in 16 months since enacting smoking ban laws (update 2011: 500 local MN bars & restaurants have closed since our smoking ban was enacted). And yet, instead of admitting that they were lied to by Nicoderm funded activists who claimed that smoking bans would increase business, local politicians ignore the business closings, job losses, and bankruptcies.

City officials sit idly by and watch crime rates increase, tax revenue decrease.......and the only response by the City of St. Paul is to combat the tax revenue losses by increasing local taxes. A standard modus operendi of socialist anti-business lawmakers......regulate or tax businesses out of existence.....and then pass the losses onto the taxpayer. Well, there is no such thing as taxing the economy into prosperity.....but again, the liberals seem unable to understand that simple fact.

So I appeal once again for lawmakers to repeal their failed smoking ban policies, especially in light of the fact that the American Cancer Society air quality testing proves secondhand smoke levels are up to 25,000 times safer than OSHA indoor air quality regulations.

In other words lawmakers were lied to on two fronts:

1) Smoking bans do not increase business.

2) Secondhand smoke IS NOT a health hazard.

Update: The St. Paul Pioneer Press covers the subject of charitable gambling losses due to the smoking bans here.

Clearing the Air covered the subject of charitable gambling losses in September 2005. We used the data from the Minnesota department of revenue which showed the Twin Cities area lost (-$14.1 million) in charitable gambling revenue, in the 6 months after the smoking bans, compared to the year prior when there were no smoking bans. You can find that data here.