The "Crazy Decisions Create Insane Results" Story

Recognize this as a car?

It was an ordinary day.  Reading the "Letters to the Editor" in the Lancaster, PA Intel/New Era and came across a letter that describes my feelings about the State of Pennsylvania getting rid of it's State Stores that sell liquor.   The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board was created in 1933 four days after the repeal of the 18th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.  That particular amendment was geared toward prohibition of production of alcoholic beverages, but not against their consumption.  Make any sense to you.  It was the only amendment in U.S. history that was repealed.  Governor of Pennsylvania at the time of it's repeal was Gifford Pinchot who stated that the reason for the PA Liquor Control Board, which was established four days after the repeal, was to discourage the purchase of alcoholic beverages by making it as inconvenient and expensive as possible.  If you wanted to buy spirits and wine you would have to shop at a State Store and if you wanted beer you would have to travel to a distributor.  There was to be no sales of either in grocery stores or convenience stores.  Did it work?  After hearing all the time of DUI arrests and overuse of alcohol as well as all the AA locations that alcoholics can attend, it doesn't look as if his idea worked.  So why not make it legal for the corner store, supermarket, produce stand, fast-food store, road-side lemonade stand and whatever to sell spirits, wine and beer.  Make it competitive so that more people can open an outlet and people will be able to buy it anywhere and at lower prices.  Can anyone besides myself and Gary M Levinson, the author of the "Letter to the Editor," see how crazy and insane this really is?  Why does the public need more alcohol than they already consume?  So the DUI arrests can go down.  So we can create fewer alcoholics?  Governor Tom Corbett, who I did not put in office, evidently believes this will be the case.  Why else would he be pushing for it.  He is hoping to double the number of liquor retailers, expanding the sales of six-packs, 12-packs and 64-oz. containers of beer.  Our state economy is struggling to make ends meet, just as everyone else is, and he plans to take away $500 million that the State Stores contribute to our economy.  How can he cut the education budget even more?  I know by selling the State Stores and getting out of the liquor business the state will gain a one-time $1.7 billion in license sales to new distributors and money from liquor tax revenue and sales, but I'm sure he will find a place to spend that real fast, then what will we do to replace that yearly $500 million?  I guess if he would invest all the money it may work, but do you really believe that would happen.  Why not just tweak the system as it now stands by having the stores sell a bigger variety of products and maybe expanding the stores.  Let the Liquor Control Board continue to educate the public about the excess consumption of alcohol and maybe, just maybe the DUIs and liquor inspired crime and violence may drop.  If not, just wait a few years and see what we'll have to content with.  Good luck to all of you if that happens.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.