I hadn't really thought about it this way until now -- I don't know why it took me so long -- but what's with the push to expand alcohol use in Nebraska? There are two concurrent pushes going on right now: the possibility of extending bar closing times from 1:00am to 2:00am; and the possibility of permitting alcohol in state parks.
I'm generally an anti-prohibitionist so neither of these two proposals is particularly offensive to me. My interest is piqued not by whether or not these two things will happen, but rather why they've been proposed at all, and why they're being proposed at the same time. Is there a tax incentive to sell more booze (notwithstanding the additional enforcement costs that come with these two proposals)? Is this part of a greater relaxation of attitudes about the use of chemical intoxicants, the likes of which is easing marijuana prohibitions across the country? Did the alcohol industry make a particularly large set of donations to politicians this year?
I'm stumped. Where is this push coming from?
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The 1-2 bar time is a reaction to pretty much the rest of the country closing at 2AM. Part of the idea might have been an effort to make some of the money lost by the arena tax on bars. Also Omaha loses lots of cash to CBluffs at closing time.
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