Beer Distributors Got Their Long-Coveted Tax Cut. Here’s Why It Matters.

Beer Distributors Got Their Long-Coveted Tax Cut. Here’s Why It Matters.

In 1993, then-President Bill Clinton had the bright idea to reform this country’s health care system, and the less bright idea to raise the federal excise tax on beer to help pay for it. Earlier that decade, Congress had already doubled the levy, incensing America’s big brewers — and, crucially, their distributors. Around the country, Anheuser-Busch and its middle-tier affiliates wrapped some 10,000 trucks with black and yellow decals that blast…