Because the United States is not the only country with liquor laws that seem designed to baffle more than anything else. Although ours are certainly intriguing -- right, Pennsylvania?
• Standoff over deregulation: The Pennsylvania Legislature didn’t deregulate its state store system this session, though it came closer than ever before. Voters wanted an end to state stores, but that wasn’t enough. Not enough Republican lawmakers, who should theoretically be opposed to government regulation, supported the plan. Democrats, who are supposed to be populists, were almost universally opposed to it. The measure, controversial enough, also got hung up in a dispute over transportation funding and a squabble between the state house and senate. Which means it’s time for a Winston Churchill quote: “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”
• Minimum pricing: The British government, which had hoped to set minimum prices for alcohol to cut down on binge drinking, is backing off the plan, reports The Drinks Business trade magazine. Instead, the coalition government will try to persuade retailers that sell booze below cost not to do so. The plan, which has been endorsed by a variety of consumer and health groups, apparently fell victim to the upcoming British general election. The magazine reports that Conservative MPs persuaded the prime minister to focus on more “core” issues in the run-up to the election, given the government’s poor poll numbers.
• “It's good to be the king:" Ontario liquor regulators know which side their bread is buttered on, and apparently have no qualms about making sure it stays buttered. The Canadian Press reports that the Liquor Control Board of Ontario sells booze to federal government agencies and foreign embassies and consulates at 49 percent less than it charges consumers. Plus, the board had to waive the minimum pricing policy that applies to everyone else to allow it to offer the discounts. Hence the reference to Mel Brooks, another great political philosopher.
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