Opinion: Malloy’s quixotic quest for liquor justice

February 22, 2015

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Terry Cowgill lives in Lakeville, blogs at ctdevilsadvocate.com and is news editor of The Berkshire Record in Great Barrington, Mass. Follow him on Twitter @terrycowgill.

I may not be Gov. Dan Malloy’s biggest fan, but every time he tilts at windmills in an effort to reform the state’s outrageous liquor laws, I want to hug that little porcupine.

For the uninitiated, Connecticut has the most oppressive and anti-competitive laws governing the sale and distribution of alcohol in the country. It punishes the consumer in the name of protecting an entire class of retailers from meaningful competition. If any other retailer in the state enjoys these kinds of protections from pricing competition, I’m not aware of it.

Despite predictions of the apocalypse, the Connecticut Package Store Association and its chief henchman, Carroll Hughes, failed to stave off the passage of a law in 2012 allowing Sunday openings. Malloy also wanted to eliminate so-called above-cost minimum pricing for each bottle of wine and liquor sold.

See the complete story at CT News Junkie.

Comments

3 responses to “Opinion: Malloy’s quixotic quest for liquor justice”

Paul Lanning

February 22, 2015

Terry—what do you think happens in a retail sector when retailers are free to sell merchandise at or below wholesale cost? There are pros and cons, and the issue is far more complex than you seem to recognize.

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Lisbeth Blue

February 23, 2015

Gall Durn! Durn, if you Yankees don’t have the most oppressive rules and regulations and controls of just about anybody. No wonder your taxes are sky high and wasted on silly in-your-face-laws.

Why don’t you let the businesses sink or swim on their own? To protect the little business owners who can’t succeed on his or her own at the expense of the drinking public, well it just ain’t right.

If Terry from Massachusetts can blabble on about Connecticut laws ignoring his own state’s affairs, let me say, “you could all get rid of your billions of invasive laws and probably enjoy more progress and growth.”

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1. Mark Chapman
  
  February 23, 2015
  
  @ Lisbeth Blue
  
  CT News Junkie columnist Terry Cowgill lives in Lakeville, Conn., and works in Massachusetts.
  
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