Waldo Jaquith

What is the downside to privatizing ABC? Granted, many commercial liquor stores are not exactly the nicest places in the world, but aren’t ABC stores a relic of Prohibition-era government nannyism? I’m a pretty liberal guy, but in this case, I don’t really have a quarrel with it.

The next thing I’d like to see is the privatization of the Guv’s prized interstate rest areas. It works pretty well in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Ohio …

Posted by U-Hoo on 1 October 2010 @ 10am

I’m with you, U-Hoo. I don’t really want my government in the consumer-goods business when there’s not a pressing need. As a fan of good booze, I find myself shopping in DC or shipping from New York in order to get stuff that the ABC simply does not carry.

That having been said, McDonnell’s budget predictions for what ABC privatization will do for VA are totally ridiculous. I’m for the ABC privatization, but I’m definitely against his liquor licensing pricing plan and regardless, none of this will fix VA’s budget problems like he says it will.

Posted by Ben C. on 1 October 2010 @ 11am

I think that there are a lot of problems with privatizing the ABC, but I actually support it. Not only does it just not make sense to me that the state is in the liquor business (why not the cigarette business, too?), but I think that a court is bound to break up the whole affair eventually. If it’s broken up now, under the state’s terms, those stores are going to be worth a lot more. But if a court forces it, then they’ll go at fire-sale prices.

But, yeah, what Ben said—this just isn’t the windfall that the governor thinks it’s going to be.

Posted by Waldo Jaquith on 1 October 2010 @ 8pm

Agreed, Waldo. I support privatization on ideological grounds, knowingly accepting that it’s not (likely) going to be a huge boon for revenue. While I disagree with many critics of the plan that it will bankrupt the state in any way, I can’t accept McDonnell’s numbers on how much it will generate either.

I figure it will likely be a small loss of revenue in the long term, but that’s okay with me.

Posted by Michael on 2 October 2010 @ 11am

If the ABC has contributed $1.5 B to the Commonwealth in the last 5 years, why would the Governor be willing to sell it for $500 M? Looks like a give away to me, but then I can read a balance sheet, and the Governor negotiated that disastrous financial agreement with Northrop Grumman IT. So we might want to have some grown-ups look the deal over.

Posted by Bubby Hussein, Hillbilly Sheikh on 4 October 2010 @ 12pm

Bubby,
I couldn’t agree more. A business that does $650 million in annual sales shouldn’t sell for $500 million. Before we move forward an audit is in order to see what the business is really worth. The governor has let the potential bidders set the price. Makes sense that they set it low.

Posted by steve vaughan on 4 October 2010 @ 12pm

$448,407 – the amount of money that Bob McDonnell has received from the alcohol industry since 2008. A powerful incentive to make privatizing ABC stores a campaign pledge…and to give them away to the alcohol industry.

Report: Control State Politics: How Big Alcohol is Dismantling Regulation State by State

Posted by Bubby Hussein, Hillbilly Sheikh on 4 October 2010 @ 4pm