In debate over liquor sales, it’s jobs vs. convenience vs. tax revenue

• Joseph Darius Jaafari
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  Joseph Darius Jaafari was a staff writer for the PA Post. His work covering crime, the military and LGBTQ issues has been featured in The Marshall Project, Rolling Stone Magazine, The Atlantic and The New York Times. He is a graduate of the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, and an award-winning documentary filmmaker who has produced for VICE and The New York Post. He is a native Arizonan and infamous for his love of tacos.

The complicated politics of liquor sales in Pa.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my short time here, it’s that Pennsylvania is home to some people who can seriously house a can of beer. Which makes sense considering it’s also home to the nation’s oldest brewer, Yuengling, which started brewing in 1829.

Pa. is also home to a lively network of local distillers and wineries. Mazza Vineyards in Erie County had two of the top selling wines in the state last year, according to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board annual review. Local distilleries brought in close to $6.1 million in sales at state stores.

But could the Pa. businesses making all those beverages make even more money? Unlike most states, retail and wholesale alcoholic beverage sales are regulated primarily by the PLCB, with all retail sales of hard liquor made at state-run stores. It’s been an effective cash-grab for the commonwealth. Last year, the state received more than $185 million in tax revenue after setting a record $2.67 billion in sales. The tax revenue helps fund state police and other initiatives.

But there are only a limited number of liquor stores in every county. And coming from Arizona where we had, literally, drive-thru liquor stores (we called them “booze barns”) every few blocks, restricting the number of places where hard alcohol can be purchased puts a damper on overall sales.

That’s why there’s been a push by lawmakers to expand liquor sales to more commercial outlets, such as grocery stores.

The Independent State Store Union and the United Food Commercial Workers Local 1776 both vehemently oppose expansion, saying that it would increase the risk of minors obtaining alcohol. They also argue that expanding liquor sales would result in more public health risks, and would likely result in job losses for the state workers who run the state stores.

“I’m not going to support anything that’s going to cost 3,500 people their jobs, whether it be tomorrow or 10 years from now, ”said State Sen. Jim Brewster, D-McKeesport. “That’s not what we’re here for. Just so that somebody else can make a little more revenue.”

Question for you: How do you think the state should handle liquor sales? Open them up to retail outlets? Or keep it state-run? Let us know in our listening post here. — Joseph Darius Jaafari

Editor’s note: In 2011, Washington state voters approved a ballot initiative to eliminate the state’s monopoly on liquor sales. The campaign was largely funded by Costco and other big retailers. Now there’s liquor in nearly every grocery and drug store in the state. One Spokane TV station recently took a look at how privatization affected everything from prices to tax revenue to selection.

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