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Will You Help Bring Democracy To Utah

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Will you help bring democracy to Utah?
 
By: Jonathyn Marble English 1010
Long live theocracy. That is the way it is here in Utah. Whether or not you are aware of the situation here, living in ignorance is only adding to the problem. Keeping your worlds separate is difficult, some even find it impossible, so they think
‘
why try?
’
 Yet I ask you, should that be allowed when it comes to church and state?
Guiding General Session
House and Senate leaders on both sides routinely meet before general sessions with the LDS church's Public Affairs Committee made up of four members of the Council of the Twelve Apostles the second tier of leadership of the LDS church. I ask you, is that right? As far as I can tell from research there is no other group that our (everyone in this state not just the LDS community) government leadership look to or seek out for moral counsel
. That’s right
, the men and women we have to represent all the people in this state only consult the leaders of the LDS religion. Seeing as in Salt Lake City there is only an LDS population of approximately 45%, I ask why are they not representing the other 55%?
The Closing of the Curtain
When the curtain goes down. Normally a sad affair, but in this case it is a time to rejoice because the curtain should never have gone up in the first place. These bills (HB0442, HB0442S01, HB0442S02, HB0442S03, SB0155, HB0097, HB0097S01, SB0279) have restaurants opened after January 2010, even those that serve beer as their
only 
 alcoholic beverage, have to construct a barricade along any area of the bar. The purpose of this barricade began as a way to shield under-age customers and other customers who do not drink from the sight of drinks being stored or poured. However, that barricade has now advanced to shield all alcoholic storage and preparation areas. These walls, often made of frosted glass, are known locally as
“Zion curtains”. T
he smaller businesses are restricted to beer sales not surpassing 30% of their total proceeds. The same law bans all day discounts on alcoholic beverages in conjunction with the ban on happy hours. Double shots and triple shots of alcohol have long been illegal and you can only order single shots. Local paper polls state 7
3% of the residents oppose the “Zions Curtain” here in Utah
; which is no wonder when it is affecting businesses so much. A number of places that had been awarded permits for alcohol had them taken away in October 2011 because the increase in headcounts was below projection. They can now serve only beer that is 3.2% or less. To top it all off, small businesses have to pay the same 80-90% markup for their booze as consumers do in the state-run stores. With so much red tape to wade though it is no wonder that some larger businesses are slowing their expansion in the state or choosing to move their business
elsewhere. “Eat, drink and be merry—tomorrow you may be in Utah.”
 A common slogan to those who are constant visitors here in Utah, just validates that Utah alcohol laws do nothing to help bring in revenue to the state.

 
 Paying your way down the River Styx
It will cost you more than your soul to “sin” in Utah
, averaging 10
th
-12
th
 highest in the nation for
“S
inners Tax
”
 with beer being the 10
th
-13
th
 highest, wine being the wild variable but listed as 0
th
 the absolute highest, liquor the 8
th
, and cigarettes 18
th
- 21
st
 in the nation. Then of course you will also need to tack on the Utah state sales tax rate being
5.95%
 and the local surtaxes, the average UT sales tax after local surtaxes are added is
6.68%
.
 
Beer Tax
13th highest beer tax
 The Utah excise tax on beer is
$0.41 per gallon
, higher then 74% of the other 50 states. Utah's  beer excise tax is ranked #13 out of the 50 states. The Utah beer tax is already added to the  purchase price of all beer bought in Utah, whether in kegs, bottles, or cans.
Utah Wine Tax
0th highest wine tax
 The Utah excise tax on Wine is
$0.00 per gallon
, one of the highest wine taxes in the country. Utah's excise tax on wine is ranked #0 out of the 50 states. All wine sales in Utah must be made through state-owned liquor stores. In addition to the excise tax collected on wine, additional taxes and fees may also apply. The Utah wine tax is already added to the purchase price of all wine bought in Utah.
Utah Liquor Tax
8th highest liquor tax
 The Utah excise tax on liquor is
$12.18 per gallon
, one of the highest liquor taxes in the country. Utah's excise tax on Spirits is ranked #8 out of the 50 states. Because liquor stores in Utah are state-owned, excise taxes for hard alcohol sales are set by the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS). The Utah liquor tax applies to all hard alcohol (alchoholic beverages other then beer and wine), and is already included in the purchase price by the retailer.
Utah Cigarette Tax
18th highest cigarette tax
 The Utah excise tax on cigarettes is
$1.70 per 20 cigarettes
, higher then 64% of the other 50 states. Utah's excise tax on cigarettes is ranked #18 out of the 50 states. The Utah cigarette tax of $1.70 is applied to every 20 cigarettes sold (the size of an average pack of cigarettes). If a pack contains more then 20 cigarettes, a higher excise tax will be collected.
This tax is
Utah’s way of saying ‘we don’t like you sinning so we are going
to punish you
’
 or at
least that is how a vast majority feel who do pay the “Sinners Tax”
. All of this happens due to
people forgetting to separate their “social morals” and their “religious morals”. Many people
would agree that seeing someone in a public environment smoking would not bother them in the least. However, if they were to see that same person in a religious environment then it would in fact bother them; thus, showing that in day to day life they can separate social and

 
What can you do? Well you can vote to put more religiously impartial legislators in office, keep your own religious morals separate. We can all make a change and make this a more just and fair place to live. Let us bring down this theocracy and make the State of Utah a better, more welcoming place to live.
References!!!
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/695245489/Lawmakers-LDS-Church-brainstorm.html
 
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2012/10/mormon-politicians-lds-church-romney
 
http://www.pbs.org/mormons/faqs/structure.html
 
http://www.economist.com/node/21540272
 
https://le.utah.gov
http://www.tax-rates.org/utah/excise-tax 
https://www.salestaxhandbook.com/utah/alcohol http://www.ncsl.org/research/financial-services-and-commerce/lotteries-and-revenue-by-state-2010.aspx http://fortune.com/2016/01/13/where-the-money-from-the-1-5-billion-powerball-lottery-goes/
i
 
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 I do plan on expanding the article to include legalizing marijuana and privately owned liquor stores