Like a good wine, sometimes a piece of legislation improves with age. So it is with a proposal to sell wine in groceries stores and some other establishments in New York. It’s getting there.
We’ve supported this idea in the past. It’s the right thing for consumers, whose choices shouldn’t be limited for the sake of preserving the virtual monopoly that liquor stores in this state have long enjoyed. It’s also the right thing for New York, which stands to gain an estimated $350 million in licensing fees, under the latest projections.
Our endorsement of the idea, however, comes with a very important condition that any legislation must also include measures to avoid putting liquor stores at a deep disadvantage as they face more competition. The latest bill seems to have taken that notion to heart. But it could do more.
The proposal would allow liquor stores to open at multiple locations and sell directly to restaurants and bars. Liquor stores, now severely limited in what they can sell, would be able to offer things like soda, juice, drink mixers, cigars and food. They also could sell more wine-related products, like racks, decanters and glassware.
Why not beer, too? Just as a person shopping for a party shouldn’t have to make an extra trip to the liquor store for wine, that person shouldn’t have to hit the grocery or drug stores for beer, either, when a liquor store might be willing and able to sell it.
This legislation should do all it can, in fact, to get needless restrictions out of the way of liquor stores while expanding the market for grocery and other stores.
Would all this be a significant change in how liquor stores operate? Absolutely. But times change. Businesses adapt. Thirty-five states have tried this, and it seems to be working just fine.
We appreciate the liquor store industry’s warnings that some businesses may not survive such a change, and that others may have to cut back jobs. We’re also aware of the grocery industry’s forecasts that 6,000 jobs would be created by this move. It’s expected, too, that expanding the places where people can purchase wine would be a big boost to the state’s vineyards.
We’re not persuaded by the liquor industry’s warnings that selling wine in grocery and drug stores would make alcohol more widely available to minors, when in fact most of the outlets that would sell wine have been selling beer for years. It’s hard to imagine that teenagers have been shunning beer because they’ve been holding out for a nice shiraz, or that grocery and drug stores would suddenly be more lax about selling alcohol to minors.
What’s really at the heart of this debate is the preservation of a monopoly and an antiquated law. Neither is in the best interests of consumers or the state.
THE ISSUE:
The state Legislature again considers allowing wine sales in grocery and drug stores.
THE STAKES:
Will lawmakers protect a monopoly, or act in the best interests of consumers and the state?
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Article source: http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/On-the-verge-of-a-fine-wine-bill-1394552.php
