Sunday’s Washington Post featured a front-page story by Richmond correspondent Anita Kumar that reported that Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and his aides are looking “to come up with a way to fulfill one of the governor's most notable campaign promises: privatizing the state's liquor stores,” which may include calling a special session of the General Assembly to pass the legislation to make such a reform possible.
As it happens, last week the Charlottesville Libertarian Examiner interviewed Nick Gillespie, editor-in-chief of Reason.tv and Reason.com, and the conversation turned to Virginia’s system of state-owned liquor stores (known as “ABC stores,” with ABC standing for “Alcoholic Beverage Control”). In January, Reason.tv produced and posted a video analysis of Virginia’s current state liquor monopoly and McDonnell’s proposal to end it. (See the video below.)
McDonnell ‘had it right’
Gillespie described McDonnell as “an interesting governor” but “a flawed politician, as all politicians are,” adding that the Virginia chief executive “had it right” in that the ABC stores “cost the state a lot of money.” This is because, Gillespie explained, “when you factor in the long-run employee cost, they are not producing a positive revenue stream.”
What’s more important, however, is how the state monopoly offends basic American values.
The ABC stores “restrict consumer choice,” Gillespie argued. “If you’re in Northern Virginia, all you have to do is cross into D.C. and you will find much better and more interesting liquor and wine stores.”
‘Pursuit of happiness’ and private liquor sales
Waxing with passion, Gillespie continued, “If you believe in freedom, if you believe that individuals should be able to pursue life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, they should certainly be able to set up liquor stores that give people what they want or what they might be interested in -- what they don’t even know about, but might want to buy.”
The current system, which dates back more than 75 years, is “mind numbing,” said Gillespie, who asked:
“Would we put up with a law that said produce sections of grocery stores can only serve one variation of eggplant?”
‘A horrible thing’
Answering his own question, Gillespie exclaimed, “It’s insane. It goes back to the very DNA of the American experiment and it needs to be fixed.” Virginia’s archaic alcoholic beverage control monopoly, he said, is “a horrible thing.”
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