At the end of the day, it really is pretty sad when one can't aspire to achieve what is arguable in Delaware:
Every few years, some lone and well-meaning soul in the Legislature comes forward with a bill to allow beer and wine sales in grocery stores. And every few years, a mob of lobbyists and special-interest zealots come forward to make sure it never becomes law. It's yet another ridiculous, and hapless, example of how a very few run so much in this state.
It really does wear on a person living in a paternalistic land. While there is beer in grocery stores in Quebec, I am pretty sure that is beyond the imagination of any other Canadian jurisdiction. Having spent five hours yesterday again in the near neighbourhood of upstate New York yesterday, it was second nature to stop at a grocery for a number of unavailable things including on this visit picking up mixed 12 packs from both Magic Hat and Harpoon. What is it that Ontarians think that Ontarians either lack or are afflicted with that Quebeckers or New Yorkers can handle? What character failures are we so accustomed to that to deny or to try to overcome it is a danger needing state intervention?
Comments
Frank McDonald - June 6, 2009 9:36 PM
Lots of beer at the corner stores here in Newfoundland. Just none of that nasty stuff from mainland Canada or elsewhere. We are lovingly protected from imports.
I just returned from the Mondial De La Biere in Montreal. Lots of great beers available at corner stores and supermarket there. But they have some moronic beer laws as well. I wasn't allowed to exit the Mondial grounds with an empty beer sampling glass unless I placed the empty glass in a plastic bag.
"It really does wear on a person living in a paternalistic land". I agree with you there.
Chris - June 8, 2009 6:46 AM
The brewers who own the Beer Monopoly Store in Ontario know what's best for us. Too bad I don't agree with them. They drove me to make my own beer and I haven't thanked them yet.
Todd Kuipers - June 10, 2009 5:24 PM
You ask: "What character failures are we so accustomed to that to deny or to try to overcome it is a danger needing state intervention?"
It's failure to keep special interests from bloating the size of government. It's a failure to separate the taxation of a product from the distribution of the product. And it's a general belief by the population that the government has our best interests in mind when they regulate things.
I do note that this dovetails nicely with your post on the ECBU beer manifesto. The ECBU has some solid ideas in mind with their manifesto.
At point that such a manifesto would be taken up by the EU for implementation, you'd end up with a (remotely possibly) well meaning person equating "help for alcoholism" as "let's strictly take control of the distribution and sale of all alcohol." Or, "let's maintain the quality of life in the countryside by maintaining quaint pubs" altering to "let's tax urban pubs more heaviliy to subsidize this country pub that has no clients (quite possibly because of poor food/service or no actual clientel)," leaving urban pubs at a subsidization disadvantage.
I tend to be wary of the implementation of such things.
And Alan, thanks for the excellent blog - it's always worth a read!