An article in today’s Inquirer about direct wine shipments got me thinking: when the hell are they going to get around to doing this? Then I realized that I live in PA, the ass-backwards state when it comes to alcohol regulation. We still have an out-dated state system, in which you can buy beer by the case from certain distributors, maybe a six pack from some smaller outlets, and wine & hard stuff from the state stores. Throw in an 18% Johnstown flood tax – the big flood was 119 years ago; the tax added after a 1936 flood (see the Johnstown Flood Museum, a Wikipedia article, the National Park Service site, and a story on the tax itself) – and you wind up with an often over-priced lame-assed selection. The argument that PA is the largest alcohol buyer in the country really doesn’t help with a poor selection. While some state stores have respectable wine sections, I should still be able to order directly from an out of state winery of my choosing.
Repealing the tax is unlikely, due to greedy and unimaginitive legislators, who can’t find another way to make up the revenue. And permitting direct shipping is also unlikely – too many “interested parties” wouldn’t get their drink at the trough (the pun is accidental, but apropos). But they won’t tell you that they’re upset about not getting their money; they will couch it in terms of avoiding having alcohol be delivered directly to minors. This is really a bullshit argument, since what teenager is going to wait for weeks to get wine delivered when they can use a fake ID or have someone buy beer for them?
