Stan Halpin wrote: > The mind boggles when trying to understand the variation in liquor > pricing and availability within the U.S. > > In the U.S., some states, like North Carolina and Virginia are > blessed with state-run liquor stores. In those states there is no > option but to buy your spirits from the state-run ABC (or distill > your own). But wine (sometimes, some states) and beer are in the > grocery stores, the "quick stop" stores, etc. The states, in their > beneficence, do not provide low prices for their goods, but the mark- > up is not too exorbitant either. In Missouri, when I moved there 24 > years ago, I could buy spirits, wine, and beer in any grocery store, > as long as it wasn't Sunday. At the time, across the river in Kansas, > you couldn't buy anything beyond watered-down beer anywhere except an > ABC store, nor could you buy alcoholic drinks in a public restaurant. > Which led to the fiction of many many "private clubs" restricted in > membership to those who could walk or wheel through the door and pay > $1 for a membership. Now I can buy anything anywhere at any time in > Kansas and Missouri, except that spirits are still controlled by the > ABC in Kansas. At very decent prices in my Missouri stores (with > single malts, for example, often lower than prices at duty-free shops > in Heathrow). In Michigan where I frequently travel, the anything/ > anywhere rules apply, except before noon on Sunday and then it is > nothing/nowhere.
This is one of the many things I miss about Missouri. Being able to walk into any liquor, grocery or convenience store and buy whatever I wanted was nice. Here in the People's Republic (Pennsylvania) the State has a very tight grip on liquor distribution. I read somewhere that PA is the world's 2nd largest alcohol buyer. You would think, with their buying power, that booze would be a bit more reasonable. To the contrary, they levy an 18.5% liquor tax on top of the normal sales tax. Yay for PA! Not only am I overcharged, my selection is at the mercy of what the Liquor Control Board decides to stock. Beer is a little different, but still inconvenient. I have to go to a beer "distributor" and can only buy by the case. Selection is often limited in the smaller stores. Beer can be purchased in take-out six packs from local bars - at bar prices. Whee! The LCB also regulates the number of licenses for restaurants. I have never lived anywhere else that had restaurants with BYOB signs on the door. In Missouri I could go grocery shopping and come home with wine, whisky and all the beer I wanted - all from 1 store. Here, that would involve at least 3 stores, costs considerably more and pisses me off to no end. For a blue state, PA is a bit too conservative for my tastes. </rant> -- Scott Loveless http://www.twosixteen.com/fivetoedsloth/ -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
