IC's drinking problem

I recently came across this article and was taken by this quote, "Most assaults occur at night and often involve people who have been drinking."

My response in one word, "Duh." The relationship between Iowa City and the drinking establishments is an interesting one. Having grown up in Iowa City I am well aware of this. There were bars that would serve me and my friends drinks when we were sixteen (and don't claim they thought we were older, we were sixteen.) Furthermore, there are several bars that I frequented up until I turned 21, once I had reached that age, I suddenly felt like I was the oldest person in the bar.

But while Iowa City wants to appear to be taking on under age, and binge drinking, they can't crack down on it too much, as I'm sure that the availability of alcohol has a very positive effect on undergrad enrollment at the University of Iowa. I would be interested in hearing if more people enrolled at the University because they had a football team, or because they got really drunk (or saw really drunk people) on a college visit.

The price to the city is obvious, increased crime rates, mainly assaults, but more frequently something stranger, causes a need for more police. This price is currently paid by the home owners in the city who, in turn, blame the University. As the previous article shows, it's not always university students, the bars in Iowa City have become such a draw that it is often people from out of town who show up to enjoy a night of sin in the city.

One solution I would be interested in seeing the City Council look at would be a taxation on all alcoholic drinks served in a bar or restaurant. While I'm sure there are state laws preventing this (which were probably pushed by the alcohol distributors,) many cities have high taxes on hotel rooms and rental cars, the only difference is those cities have convention centers, Iowa City has bars.

By taxing served drinks, the city would not only raise money directly from the thing that causes them to spend it, but it might actually encourage people to drink less. Unfortunately, as we saw with the previous 21 and over ballot initiative, serving alcohol is a lucrative business, and the bar owners in Iowa City realize where their money comes from and are willing to spend handsomely to prevent the city from taking action to try and curb some of the problems it cause.

Even though I no longer live in Iowa City, it's still my home town, and every time I read an article about stupid drunk people doing stupid drunk things, I'm reminded of something my brother said, "I shouldn't be afraid to take my three year old daughter downtown at two in the afternoon, just because it's a game day." And therein lies the question, what does downtown Iowa City exist for? The people who live in the city, or the bar owners?