Privatize the liquor stores!

This Forbes article about opposition to the bill moving through the Pennsylvania legislature to private the state liquor stores was reprinted in the Gettysburg Times this morning. I'm a well-known card-carrying liberal (except during my primary challenge to Todd Platts), but I'm enough of an economist to know BS when I see it. To whit:



A proposal to turn over Pennsylvania's state-controlled sale of liquor and wine to private business would drive up prices, limit the selection of products and leave many rural residents without a nearby liquor store, critics warned lawmakers Thursday.



The effect on prices and selection will come as news to the hundreds of people in the Gettysburg area who regularly drive down to Maryland to buy their wine and liquor.



Conti said a standard state store carries nearly 2,500 types of liquor and wine, and that the board maintains stores in rural areas, even when they are not profitable, as a matter of fairness for consumers, which may not be the case under privatization.



"The bill cannot force a grocery store to bid for a license," said Dale Horst, the PLCB's director of retail operations. "If the PLCB can't make any money because the sales volume is simply not there, these areas may not be served at all."



Please. By that logic the state should also run grocery stores, Walmarts and movie theaters. Look, the benefit of living in an isolated rural hamlet is the pastoral beauty and ability to escape the hurly-burly of city life. The cost is that you have to drive a ways to buy groceries and liquor.



I don't know enough about the details of the Turzai bill (but I'm going to start reading Lew Bryson's blog regularly for all my liquor privatization news), but here's my vision for Pennsylvania:



- I get to buy beer, wine and liquor in grocery stores, pharmacies, WalMart, wherever.

- I can buy my beer by the bottle, case, or six pack - I do not have to buy an entire case every time!

- There are no restrictions on the varieties of beer, wine and liquor available to me; any retailer in Pennsylvania can order any brand from any supplier anywhere in the world

- Alcoholic beverages are taxed at a reasonable rate, comparable to the rate charged by other states, that provides the state with a decent amount of revenue

- Workers at the establishments that sell alcohol are free to join a union and earn a decent living.