States Consider The Obvious

It took this long for governments to realize the obvious?

States suffering through tough times are reaching for a tonic.

Lawmakers in several states with tight control of liquor sales are considering legislation that would shift the job to private industry, saving money and raising revenue.

Some states are seeking a windfall by auctioning licenses to private companies to run the retail operations. Others are considering selling distribution centers. Also, privatization would remove costs including paying employees and overhead such as energy bills.

Virginia, North Carolina, Washington, Vermont and Mississippi are all weighing proposals that would reduce the powerful roles they play in the distilled-spirits or wine businesses through state-run distributorships or retail stores.

Now it wouldn’t be fair to ignore those who oppose privatizations, so here it is:

The privatization faces resistance from religious groups, labor unions and mom-and-pop shops, suggesting how economics are trumping other concerns in the struggle to overcome the recession.

Yes, let’s ignore economics to tackle the recession. While we are at it, we might as well ignore physics when designing an airplane and overlook biology when researching medicine.