The Johnstown Flood Tax

This is the way government functions. It was so in 1936 and remains the same today.

"Many of you have probably heard of the 1889 Johnstown Flood, one of the worst natural disasters in United States history. What you may not know, however, is that another great flood hit Johnstown in March 1936, a flood that is still taxing Pennsylvania alcohol sales. Originally created to channel emergency relief funds to victims of the Johnstown Flood, the Johnstown Flood Tax is a 10 percent temporary tax that was placed on the sale of all alcohol in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It was only supposed to last a few years to raise the $41 million necessary to rebuild the community - an effort that was achieved by the end of 1942. Nearly 70 years later, that tax is still in place and now stands at 18 percent (before the statewide 6% sales tax is tacked on).
The near $200 million collected annually no longer goes to flood victims, however, instead going into the general fund for lawmakers to use as they see fit. A temporary tax that has overstayed its welcome." I have to give socialist site, google, credit for this post though I don't want to. They are in Obama's hip pocket.