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  2 0 Are you kidding me? elenchos answered in News & Politics about 1 year ago | Report 6 comments by Kathy Nims, elenchos, and bradkin… 0 0 What's so weird about liking liquor stores? Kathy Nims commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 Because you said the WSLCB employees are "experts" (!!!) and that you are "guaranteed an awesome night" (???). And you seem unconcerned that the selection is just pathetic. "Pathetic" being the most polite word I can think of to use here. Not to mention that when you go to a liquor store in a normal state you can pick up limes, juice, balloons, dips, chips, condoms, motor oil, toothpaste -- pretty much anything the customer might want. Instead of having to drive all over town wasting gas, spewing out pollution, looking for everything you need. Or you can visit a discount store that offers no service and bad selection but crazy low prices. Or you can try a fancy boutique liquor store with high prices but knowledgeable staff, fancy decor, and endless options. All of these possibilities are out there in a normal state. In Washington, it's all the same, same, same. Normal states also don't have worse rates of alcohol abuse nor higher rates of underage drinking. And they can collect taxes the right way, with progressive income tax, instead of regressive sin taxes that hurt the poor. And we have this whole extra layer of law enforcement bureaucracy for liquor, yet don't have fewer drunk drivers or less alcohol-related crime or violence or illness due to alcoholism. This state agency has nothing to show for all their work. You must be kidding. Normal states have it so much better. Here in Washington, we're in hell. elenchos commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 What about the volume discounts Costco and large retailers will recieve to supply product from A-Busch, MillerCoors, putting pressure on the small breweries to give freebies, and or discounts that they can't keep up with? I don't know if I fully understand everything about this issue, but just a thought. bradkin commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 Wal-Mart and Target and Safeway and every other store I can think of negotiates volume discounts on t-shirts and lampshades and frozen lima beans and every other thing I can think of. Does it make sense for Washington to have a centralized state-run distribution system for t-shirts and lampshades and lima beans too? Or just beer? And if the answer is just beer, then why? What is special about beer that the mom and pop outfits need to be subsidized in this way? Personally I think the biggest economic disadvantage the small time breweries face is how nasty their product tastes. People don't want to buy it because it is yucky. Gross. Unpalatable. Address the problem of the lack of appeal to the consumer and they wouldn't need any special market protections. elenchos commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 I have a problem with big box retailers controlling the market, and buying up shelf space making it difficult for small breweries to compete. There is steady market growth for craft beer, and it's no wonder the big guys are buying out small companies and or imitating craft beer, people like it. I enjoy it myself, and I would rather spend a couple extra dollars to support a smaller business rather than a huge company making undrinkable piss. I also have a hard time believing liqour variety would increase at a supermarket, the state run liqour stores already provide adequate selection and I can't imagine safeway, or costco to have anything better. I don't necessarily think the 3 tier system is perfect, but in this economy I don't think it's responsible for the state to lay off even more employees. bradkin commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 All you have to do is cross a state line to see how wrong you are. Look at the selection in a California store, or anywhere. As far as giving special legal privileges to small breweries, why are they so special? Why not small bookstores? Or small sailboat manufacturers? I don't get why this is an issue that requires this weird state run system just because it's booze. Shouldn't we have the same system to protect small cigarette makers? Why don't we? And personally, these craft brews, to me, taste like crap. Perhaps this protectionist system is the reason the shelves seem so full of bad tasting beer. They should work on their product and not lobby to stay on the dole forever. elenchos commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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