
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, May 20, 1990                   TAG: 9005210217
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: F2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

WHY NOT TAX COFFEE, TOO?

NOBODY likes taxes, but we are fast reaching the point where no alternative exists.

We'll need additional revenue to pay for a monetary past of unbridled spending. Americans may also justifiably expect a future financial policy where national appetites are more closely aligned to and tempered by fiscal realities.

Cigarette and alcohol users are carrying a good tax-load now, but use of both is declining. The young are the bigger users. The older people are not. They are smarter.

So why not tax coffee? Everyone knows that as another psychotropic stimulant, it's not good for you.

\ CHARLES BROWN\ ROANOKE

by CNB