Pennsylvanians Win: Liquor Markup Increase Nixed

Finally some good news for booze consumers: the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) has decided against increasing the markup added to each wine and spirits product, according to PLCB Chairman Joseph Brion.

The announcement came last week after an internal PLCB memo calling for a 16.6% increase in the PLCB’s markup received wide media attention, much of which was unfavorable. The proposal was being considered given the agency’s projection of a 20% reduction in their net income due to rising employee costs and government mandates. The memo itself quashed one of the anti-privatization movement’s favorite talking points: that the PLCB is an unparalleled source of revenue for the state.

The PLCB’s decision to forgo the markup increase raises an important question, though: How will the agency make up the lost income, i.e., taxes it collects from consumers? Calls for “modernization” will undoubtedly be touted as a solution.

But instead of trying to mold the PLCB to work more like a private system, which is like pushing on a string, the state agency should be steered in a different direction, getting it out of the business of booze sales and ending its costly conflict of interest.

Privatization, anyone?