Subscribe free to our daily email newsletterContributor Opinion By Temperance Blalock: County Should Not Be In Liquor Business
Apr 16, 2009 8:00 - 4 Comments
>I’ve lived in Montgomery County since I was 18, so I always just assumed that this was the norm: that the sale of alcohol was tightly controlled, that hard liquor could only be purchased in a country-owned store, that beer and wine were not available in grocery stores, and that the corporation that controlled 7-11 was being “responsible” in prohibiting the sale of beer in most of their stores. Perhaps it was having lived previously in even dryer places like North Carolina and Kentucky, but it took me a long time to realize that this county is, in fact, an extreme aberration. It was only when I went to visit my sister in New Mexico, and saw that I could buy a bottle of vodka at a convenience store, that I was shocked.
But it was only last Fall, when I started making my own home-brew beer and did some research on the laws and statutes governing that activity, that I truly became aware of the draconian extent to which the county controls the sale of liquor. To say that we are being “protected” by this type of prohibition is as hypocritical as saying that red-light cameras have been installed merely for public safety, and not for the revenue that they generate. Montgomery County is legally skimming $20 million dollars a year off the sale of alcohol, above and beyond the taxes levied by the state, and they are not earmarking that money for alcohol rehabilitation or public health – it is going into the revenue pot along with everything else.
The recent refusal by the House of Delegates to allow a license for beer and wine at a single grocery store (SuperFresh at Town Center) is a clear demonstration that this county’s over regulation has gone way out of control. The only direct beneficiaries of this inaction are a handful of businesses in the Rockville area. It is when one realizes that those businesses are being used by the commercial alcohol industry as a pretext for maintaining their ironclad grip on the distribution of alcohol that it becomes apparent what the power dynamics are.
The owner of Tiger Deli was quoted in the Gazette paper as applauding the restriction, and he stated that this will allow him to stay in business. I myself shop at Tiger Deli, and to threaten a boycott against that business would be disingenuous on my part, since they are in fact one of the least-expensive places in Rockville to buy beer. But I do question the fact that it is necessary to maintain such oppressive control over the sale of a legal substance.
In the spirit of protest, then, I intend to brew the maximum legal amount of beer.
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I’m also disappointed by the recent events regarding the liquor license for SuperFresh. Strangely, it appears it was primarily opposed by businesses who were afraid of competition, not increased crime or addiction. These same businesses are hobbled by the county law and have to buy their liquor through the county liquor stores–adding to the cost to consumers. >
When I recently visited a Trader Joes in California, I was shocked by the lower prices–the same bottle of wine was nearly HALF the price. So who’s making the additional profit in Montgomery County? Montgomery County, which is facing a half billion dollar hole in their budget and isn’t going to give up this income without a fight.
So what’s the purpose of the county’s draconian control of liquor? It’s not about crime nor temperance nor price controls nor the public good, but income–and I’m not sure that’s the right reason governments should run retail businesses.
Having lived in PG and Anne Arundel counties, that allow beer, wine and liquor to be sold in private establishments, I find prices to be higher in those counties. It would be nice if Montgomery could push a portion of the revenue toward health care related to alcohol abuse. In MOntgomery, I only wish I could purchase liquor on Sundays, but work around it.
I agree with the original poster. It seems a bit odd that the county controls the sale of alcohol so strictly. It would be like the federal government saying that they could be the only one selling cigarettes. It takes away business from stores that would normally sell it as well, funneling money away from small businesses (and big businesses as well) to the government, which seems unethical.
didn’t know you were taking pictures these days, temperance…. they are nicelaura