Last Sunday while we were doing our live-stream from the Italian Festival in Rose Tree Park, one of the people who stopped by was state Rep. Nick Miccarelli, R-162, of Ridley Park.
We have something of a running gag between the two of us over one of my pet peeves.
I’ve been on something of a one-man campaign the last couple of years to get Pennsylvania out of the liquor business.
I always joke with Nick about it because the man he replaced, Rep. Ron Raymond, used to be the boss of the House committee that oversaw booze sales in Pa. He always told me privatization would never happen.
Miccarelli isn’t nearly as sure. He’s a privatization booster who thinks it has a real shot.
And this is the week. A bill to blow up the state Liquor Control Board and turn over alcohol sales to private businesses could be voted on by the House. The bill also would let beer distributors bid on the licenses, as well as easing some of the other restrictions they face, such as selling only by the case.
There are lots of reasons given for why Pa. should get out of the business of selling wine and spirits.
Mine are strictly personal.
It has nothing to do with revenue. I don’t care how much the LCB kicks in to the state coffers.
The problem is that I went to college in Colorado. And before I finished off my final two years, I actually lived and worked in the state for a year and a half.
I couldn’t believe it the first time I walked into a supermarket and saw several aisles stocked with beer, wine and liquor.
When you went to the 7-Eleven, you could grab a cold six-pack.
Of course you can do none of those here in Pennsylvania.
Instead we deal with this three-headed monster. You must make one trip to the state store for a bottle of wine or liquor. A second to the beer distributor if you want to purchase a case of beer. But not a six-pack. That requires another stop, at a deli or tavern, where you will pay an outrageous price for this convenience.
Convenience stores? Forget them. They don’t sell beer.
A few supermarkets have now crashed the market. Wegmans now sells beer, but not by the case. Two six-packs is the limit, as with the bars and delis. You want to buy a case? You’re out of luck. And you can’t toss a couple of six-packs into your cart and then do the rest of your grocery shopping. The beer purchase requires you to go through a separate checkout line.
All of this has left many readers with the belief that I am some kind of booze hound. I’m not. Two beers is about my limit these days. I like beer in the summer and wine in the winter. I don’t drink liquor.
This week the House, pushed by Majority Leader Rep. Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, will take up the latest attempt to privatize the sale of liquor in Pennsylvania.
One can only hope.
I've been waiting for this week a long time. Just ask Nick Miccarelli or Ron Raymond. Do I think it will actually happen.
I'll believe it when I see it.
For now, here's a toast to the end of the LCB.
Sip, sip, hooray!
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