Standard-Examiner: Should States Be In The Liquor Business?

Upshot seems quite clear: States have no business running a booze monopoly business

By: Bob Becker

On a subject that's been discussed in these parts now and then:  The  SE has up this morning an interesting article headlined "Should States Be In the Liquor Business?"  Uses Pennsylvania's experience as its example... Pennsylvania whose liquor control board came up with Looney Toons ideas fully worthy of the Utah liquor control commission.  Like putting state owned wine-bottle vending machines in supermarkets. But you couldn't get a bottle until you breathed into a tube that analyzed the alcoholic content of your breath/blood, and a state agent in a central office signaled the machine that it was OK to sell you the bottle.   And of course, the Pa Liquor Commission decreed that the machines must be locked down on Sundays.... the biggest sales day for most supermarkets in the state.   Naturally, the machines lost money... over a million in their first year of operation... and are now history.   Upshot of the story seems clear: States have no business running a booze monopoly business.  Link here:

• Should states be in the liquor business?

Comments, anyone?