HARRISBURG PA – State-operated Wine and Spirits stores in Lower Pottsgrove, Pottstown, and elsewhere across Pennsylvania would be run privately under the latest proposal to bridge the state’s ever-increasing budget gap, according to a story in today’s (Thursday, April 22, 2010) online edition of The Pennsylvania Independent.
The Wine and Spirits Shoppe in Lower Pottsgrove's North End Center ...
The Harrisburg PA-based news service reports that Allegheny County state Rep. Mike Turzai thinks “bidding for private licenses to sell and distribute wine and spirits could bring the state a $2 billion windfall,” Independent reporter Jim Panyard wrote. Through the end of March, state tax collections had fallen short by $719 million; that sum is expected to grow to more than $1 billion by June 30, the end of the fiscal year.
Turzai, the House Republican whip, envisions auctioning off 100 wholesale distribution licenses, 750 retail store licenses, and the stores’ current inventories. Even after those one-time sales, Turzai claimed at a Capitol press conference that state alcohol sales would still generate about $500 million in revenue under his proposal.
It’s not the first time a sale of the liquor stores has been suggested. Former Pennsylvania Governors Dick Thornburgh and Tom Ridge both advocated the idea. Both got nowhere in highly politicized discussions.
... and on High Street in downtown Pottstown.
Pennsylvania and Utah are the only two states that maintain total control over their highly profitable alcohol industry. Pennsylvania-regulated mark-ups on the products generally run at about 30 percent, or 30 cents in profit on every dollar purchase. “The state’s beer, liquor and wine controls have drawn consumer complaints for decades over limited selections, higher prices and lack of convenience,” The Independent reported.
The stores are governed by the state Liquor Control Board (LCB), which declined The Independent‘s requests for comment. Locally, the LCB operates stores:
- in Lower Pottsgrove’s North End Shopping Center, 1300 N. Charlotte St.
- in downtown Pottstown, 212 E. High St., and
- in the Suburbia Shopping Center, 74 Glocker Way, Pottstown PA.
Under Turzai’s proposal, the LCB would be substantially reduced, and would become an enforcement and education agency.
Pottstown photo by Don Otis via Panoramio
Sign up to get The Sanatoga Post delivered free daily by e-mail. Share this article.
See our galleries for photos that appear in The Post. Got news for us? E-mail The Post.
A version of this article also appears in The Main Street Post.
We moved here from Maine. Wine and beer is available in most grocery stores. No state employees. You never saw a problem and alcohol abuse is no worse than anyplace else.
This state store system is a luxury we needn’t pay for or have. It’s time to allow for Wine and Spirits to be sold without a state employee available. You can already order wine from out of state and have it delivered to your doorstep. So what exactly, other than inconvenience, does having wine and spirits sold by a government employee do for us?
I realize jobs will be lost but it’s a drop in the bucket compared to the savings.