The good news out of Harrisburg yesterday was that the state Senate got the ball rolling in terms of getting Pennsylvania out of the booze business.
The bad news is that no one should hold their breath waiting for them to blow up the state stores.
And if I was new Gov. Tom Corbett, I probably wouldn’t start counting all that money from the sale of the state stores just yet.
Corbett and the Legislature will be grappling with a budget deficit somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 billion. Yeah, I know, that’s a pretty pricey neighborhood.
One of the ways suggested to raise revenue is to sell off all those licenses to sell wine and liquor currently held in the mitts of Pa.
state stores. I don’t know anything about the numbers involved here. All I know is that I detest the way this state handles the sale of alcohol, and I’d love to see it changed. I want to be able to pick up a bottle of wine, maybe some gin or vodka for a mixed drink, as well as a case of beer, all in one stop, preferably at the same time I’m getting my groceries.
I’d like to be able to hit the local Wawa on the way home and grab a cold six-pack of beer if I need it.
I can do none of that now. I can, however, go one place for beer, but only for a case. If I want a six-pack, I have to go to a local deli or bar, and pay inflated prices. The local Wegmans supermarket is finally knocking down that wall. But you can’t buy a case there.
That’s just beer. If you want a bottle of wine or liquor, that’s another trip, to one of Pennsylvania’s state stores.
The testimony in Harrisburg yesterday wasn’t particuarly encouraging.
All of this looks to me like Harrisburg doing what it does best – talking.
Getting something done – and actually changing this archaic system – is probably going to take a lot longer, if it happens at all.
The bad news is that no one should hold their breath waiting for them to blow up the state stores.
And if I was new Gov. Tom Corbett, I probably wouldn’t start counting all that money from the sale of the state stores just yet.
Corbett and the Legislature will be grappling with a budget deficit somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 billion. Yeah, I know, that’s a pretty pricey neighborhood.
One of the ways suggested to raise revenue is to sell off all those licenses to sell wine and liquor currently held in the mitts of Pa.
state stores. I don’t know anything about the numbers involved here. All I know is that I detest the way this state handles the sale of alcohol, and I’d love to see it changed. I want to be able to pick up a bottle of wine, maybe some gin or vodka for a mixed drink, as well as a case of beer, all in one stop, preferably at the same time I’m getting my groceries.
I’d like to be able to hit the local Wawa on the way home and grab a cold six-pack of beer if I need it.
I can do none of that now. I can, however, go one place for beer, but only for a case. If I want a six-pack, I have to go to a local deli or bar, and pay inflated prices. The local Wegmans supermarket is finally knocking down that wall. But you can’t buy a case there.
That’s just beer. If you want a bottle of wine or liquor, that’s another trip, to one of Pennsylvania’s state stores.
The testimony in Harrisburg yesterday wasn’t particuarly encouraging.
All of this looks to me like Harrisburg doing what it does best – talking.
Getting something done – and actually changing this archaic system – is probably going to take a lot longer, if it happens at all.
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