Labor-union official Vincent Fyfe wants the state of New York to continue prohibiting supermarkets from selling wine (Letters, Feb. 12). His reason? Supermarket wine sales will put some liquor-store owners out of business and their employees out of work.
Note to Mr. Fyfe: the purpose of the wine trade – like every other trade – is to serve consumers, not to create jobs for producers.
Ok, here comes the patented Don Boudreaux Karate Kid Crane kick. Get ready for it:
If job creation were paramount, then government should not only continue to prohibit supermarkets from selling wine, but should require that bottles of beer, wine, and spirits be hand-delivered to retailers, one at a time, while cradled in the arms of carriers each pulled though the streets in a rickshaw.
Of course, such a requirement would harm consumers, but it would also create lots of jobs.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Go up to the first link to read comments about the bizarre world of cronyism afflicting each state. Pennsylvania, for instance, has nothing but state-owned liquor stores. Colorado and Oklahoma can't sell anything but 3.2 beer. In Indiana, supermarkets can sell wine and beer, but they can't sell them cold ??? ! !?? ! ??
And one commenter, speaking of rickshaws, mentioned this classic Seinfeld moment:
1 comment:
A couple of statements towards the bottom are incorrect, as a person from Oklahoma who now lives in Colorado I know those states rules pretty well. Not that it makes things any less crazy. In Colorado 3.2 beer can only be sold at liquor stores, but higher content beers can be sold in the liquor stores. I am going to write a blog post soon about the controversy about having this changed that has recently sprung up.
In Oklahoma only 3.2 beer can be sold outside of a liquor store. Liquor stores are not allow to refrigerate anything. Because major beer distributors like Coors and Budweiser don't want to see their beer go rancid in the hot Oklahoma summers, they do not sell their higher content products in Oklahoma, but you can find some .6 micro-brews in the liquor stores in Oklahoma. However, the liquor stores are also supposed to closed at 9 pm, and cannot be open on Sunday so buying warm beer is not very convenient and most people don't buy beer at the liquor stores.
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