Thanks to my trusty Twitter feed, the fellas over at The Stogie Guys, posted an interesting little video that I thought I would share here.
For any new readers, or folks not paying attention, Sean and I live in the Commonwealth of Virginia.? Virginia, like a few other bass-ackwards states, have a government controlled liquor monopoly.? The whole-sellers/distributors must sell directly to the Commonwealth, who then distribute the products through out the Commonwealth to the Commonwealth owned stores.? The Commonwealth determines the prices.? And the way I understand it (and someone please pipe up if I’m mistaken!!!) if you, as a distiller, do not have the capacity to manufacture or and provide enough product that meets a set minimum the Commonwealth determined quantity, then the Commonwealth will not purchase your products.
This means that small producers such as Tuthilltown Spirits, Anchor Distilling (yes, the folks who make Anchor Steam Beer), and House Spirits have an extremely hard time, almost non-existent, getting their products sold in the Commonwealth.? Ninety-five percent of the liquor The Scofflaws buy, we travel into Washington, DC to purchase.? (Note: Insert shameless plug for Ace Beverage here.)
During the most recent election for Governor, Bob McDonnell (R) campaigned that he believed the Commonwealth should step out of the spirit business once and for all.? Well, Bob won.? And what does he say now?? In the video below, produced by Reason and Reason.tv, we hear directly from the Governor.
Can Governor McDonnell privatize liquor sales in the Commonwealth? Is this a good idea? I’d love to hear what people think on the subject, so start right below here in that “Comments” section.
Cheers!
The Gov of VA is Bob McDonnell, not Bob McConnell.
If I were you I?d be out with a bag of fireworks.
The liquor selection here sucks, imagine if it was state run? or better, don?t even?
Thanks Skippy!
Does anyone actually think that its a better fiscal decision to sell off the stores for a one time profit? how much does the state make from liquor sales? is it sort of cutting your nose off to spite your face?
Is everyone in VA forgetting what happened when fucking Gilmore decided to repeal the car tax? Fine, sell off the liquor stores, just figure out what you’re cutting from the budget FIRST. Cut those things from the budget BEFORE you sell off the liquor stores.
I don’t like alphabet stores any more than anyone else, but I like sound fiscal policy way more than the average toothless retard who voted for this clown. Prove you can do it without torpedoing the state, and then give me a call, McDonnell.
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I live one state south, and we’re having a similar debate here. Privatizing liquor sales isn’t simply a one-time influx of cash ($700M is what they’re saying in NC), it also gets a number of recurring costs off the state budget. Salaries, pensions, benefits, building maintenance, etc. all come out of whatever money the ABC stores bring in. And at least in NC where the local ABC boards operate semi-autonomously, many of the local boards operate at a loss or barely break even – returning no profit to the state’s ledgers.
Further, the state would still make money off of alcohol sales, both directly from taxes and store licensing and indirectly from things like property tax – I believe ABC stores are exempt from property taxes, being publicly owned. The benefits to consumers should be obvious. Competition should yield better prices and better selection and better service. I’ll be glad to not have to drive to South Carolina or DC or resort to mail order to find things like Benedictine, Chartreuse, Maraschino, or even a decent bottle of rye – none of which are available in NC ABC stores.
In the interest of fairness, the only reasonable argument I’ve seen in favor of continuing state-run liquor sales is that the stores themselves are not out to turn a profit and are not at risk of losing business. Therefore, they have less incentive to sell alcohol to minors or people already visibly intoxicated. With private businesses selling liquor, there are bound to be less scrupulous owners and sales people who are willing to bend the rules for an extra dollar. We already see this with beer sales.
This is a GREAT idea. States will still make a ridiculous amount off of liquor taxes (and maybe even more so if people can buy things they want). And they’ll cut a significant amount of cost for not having to run, maintain, and staff the ABCs themselves.
But for me, I don’t even care about the economic impact here. This is strictly better for the consumer.
I like that Virginia people get to come to visit D.C. and pay us the taxes for our booze.
But, did you notice Bob called Miller Lite “old-fashioned?” I guess anything before 1974 must be old fashioned to that young whipper snapper.