2010 Budget . . .

The budget is out and by now we have heard that tickets for driving offenses have gone UP (no park lights, speeding, driving without seatbelt, dark tint & driving on the PBR . . . *sigh*) but also an increase in taxes on cigarettes & alcohol . . . 15% for local (Fernandes, Angosutra, etc) and 30% for imported (Moet, Johnnie, Hennessy, etc).

The Dog's view . . WE have forced the government to do something like this cuz really & truly the amount of people dying on our roads on a daily basis is obscene. The straw that broke the camel's back had to be 11-month Nevi Vionna Ramjit. She was on her mother's lap in the front seat of their vehicle (with no seatbelt) and upon impact baby Nevi went through the windscreen.

The raise in alcohol is also a two-fold plus for Trinidad as
1) we are the largest consumers of alcohol per capita in the Caribbean and no matter the cost of this vice, I personally don't see this changing anytime soon, so why shouldn't the government make some money for the country by raisin the tax?!
2) Drunk people act like drunk people and do shit when behind a steering wheel so why not raise the price to try to deter some from getting drunk (again I don't think it will deter the masses but a couple of individuals aint too bad a start)

There are alot of other things in the budget that are a good move for the country given the current state of things. . .

For the full budget click here