Media
Distilleries Despot Delivers Tinctures Tantrum
Desperately seeking to hold on to a shred of credibility and hope lawmakers aren’t watching the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board majestically implode under “Vinogate,” United Food and Commercial Workers union boss Wendell Young IV is at it again.
His latest re
d herring? You guessed it, the Commonwealth Foundation. In a truth-challenged tirade that would made James Carville blush, Young responds to a recent CF commentary published statewide by inciting all the “errors” made in our “attack.” Trouble is, Young cites no errors at all, just relies on childish rhetoric and tired, long-disproven myths.
The crux of his crying, says Young, is the “fact” that the PLCB returns $500 million in “profit” to Pennsylvania taxpayers each year, making it a reliable cash cow. That’s like saying the IRS makes U.S. taxpayers a profit, too! Lucky us, huh?
The truth is, no matter who takes money at the point of purchase (free enterprise or full government monopoly control), those taxes will continue to be collected and returned to the general fund. This is a “cash cow” uddering “BOO,” not moo!
In fact, there will be a heck of a lot more collected if we stop border bleed caused by this monopoly of mediocrity. In the state of Washington, for which Young has cited as a failure of privatization, turns out they’re making more money already, too.
Young can stand on his liquor box and demand there is nothing to see behind the PLCB curtain of continuing internal and external investigations. Heck, he can continue to sell the misinformation of “profit” to all who remain listening. He can desperately attack the messenger and call us liars all he likes using nothing to back his claims. In the end, the truth is the people of Pennsylvania want government out of the booze business for good reason and it is on their behalf we continue to fight.
Until that great day of liquor liberation, stay thirsty my comrades.