The new blog is attracting media attention already, and I just put Reason #1 up this morning. I'm going to be putting teasers up here for the Reasons; if you're interested, go look. Oh, and take the poll, too, first of a series.
Oh, where to begin?
I knew when I started this that the tough part would be picking the first reason to abolish the PLCB. Should it be the government retail monopoly, or the crap selection, or the loss of revenue to bordering states, or the 18% Emergency Tax, or the lack of service to retail accounts, or the costs of the State Store system, or the licensing system... The list just goes on and on, and they're all terrible.
But when you get down to the root of it, the base cause and source of the problems with the PLCB is that it reeks of the patronizing attitude of do-gooders. We, the itty-bitty wittle citizens of the Commonwealth, just can't handle our liquor -- or wine -- so the State has to do that for us.
Reason #1 on why the PLCB should be abolished:
We deserve to be treated like adults.
2 comments:
It's not the LCB that has a patronizing attitude, it's the state Liquor Code itself. The law's raison d'etre, as stated in SECTION 1-104 is "for the protection of public welfare, health, peace and morals of the Commonwealth..."
The section further states:
"The provisions of this act are intended to create a system for distribution that shall include the fixing of prices for liquor and alcohol and controls placed on prices for malt and brewed beverages, and each of which shall be construed as integral to the preservation of the system, without which system the Commonwealth's control of the sale of liquor and alcohol and malt and brewed beverages and the Commonwealth's promotion of its policy of temperance and responsible conduct with respect to alcoholic beverages would not be possible."
It's the Liquor Code, not the enforcers, that's the big problem.
No argument, Don. It's just easier for people to identify the PLCB as the source. But the 'mission statement' of the blog covers it all:
"One person's reasons why the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board should be abolished, and the Pennsylvania Liquor Code completely overhauled and rewritten, to reflect the 70-odd years of change since Repeal."
It's just Reason #1 so far. I figure this thing can go on for as long as "Things White People Like." Easy.
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