Why privatize liquor sales?
In response to the letter by Michael Passalacqua, “Liquor must be privatized,” which appeared in the Tuesday Observer-Reporter, I am sure that the current employees of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board would be valuable within a private system, but would only be paid minimum wage or slightly more, while the store owners will reap all the profits.
Licensees may purchase 30 percent of the wine and spirits in the state, and get a larger wholesale discount in a private system, but what about us, the other 70 percent who would pay the same price or a higher one to allow this wholesale discount?
I buy liquor and beer in West Virginia when I am at our campground, and in Ohio when staying with my daughter, and find that the items I purchase are normally more expensive in these two states. The selection is not as good as in most Pennsylvania liquor stores unless you go to the larger retailers. I would also guess that the employees are being paid substantially less than PLCB employees. So why are the prices not substantially lower?
The same arguments were made about selling beer in supermarkets in Pennsylvania, but beer prices in Ohio and West Virginia are higher than they are in Washington.
Since the state is making a substantial annual income on the sale of wine and spirits while maintaining many good-paying jobs and prices comparable to those in West Virginia and Ohio, why the push to privatize liquor sales? The way I see it, if we privatize the liquor sales in Pennsylvania, we would be replacing many good-paying jobs with low-paying jobs and the state would lose substantial income. How does this benefit me or Pennsylvania?
John Lesjak
Chartiers