If you drink beer and smoke cigarettes, and who doesn't in this state, this is a lousy way to start a new week.  The governor is willing to hike the sin taxes on both.

    All this surfaced during one of those infamous closed door-high level meetings last Thursday as the governor and four legislative leaders huddled to find some way to fill in the $2 billion hole in the state budget.

    The governor proposed a 'list of options" that included doubling the beer tax and slapping another twenty-five cents on a pack of smokes.

     The beer tax is now a measly 1.9 cents per twelve ounces.  That would go to 3.8 cents and net about $42 million in new money.

     The tobacco tax would go from $2.00 a pack to $2.25 and raise about $53 million.  That would be on top of the 62 cent a pack increase imposed by the federal government on April 1^st.  Pretty soon smoking around here is going to get expensive.

     But just because the governor is willing to go there, that does not mean the four leaders will tag along.  House Speaker Andy Dillon said last week that Michigan's beer tax would be out of line with other states in the region, so he's against it.

     And the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, who generally has no aversion to hiking taxes, won't touch the beer tax.  Rep. George Cushingberry says it would be a form of political suicide since folks who drink beer in this state, also vote.

    And if ole "Cush" can figure that out, betya the other 147 lawmakers, many of whom are running for something next year, can too.