Reason Foundation

Recent Research and Commentary

Why is the CDC Being Anti-Science on State Liquor Privatization?

May 14, 2013, 2:26pm

Leonard Gilroy

Policymakers and citizens in the 17 "control" states like Pennsylvania should take the CDC's anti-privatization stance with a major grain of salt, as it rests on a dubious scientific foundation.

State Liquor Privatization Update

Subsection of Annual Privatization Report 2013: State Government Privatization

April 22, 2013

Leonard Gilroy

This subsection of Reason Foundation's Annual Privatization Report 2013: State Government Privatization explores the latest on state attempts to privatize their retail and/or wholesale liquor monopolies, with updates from Washington State, Pennsylvania and more.

Washington State Enters New Era of Liquor Privatization

May 31, 2012, 10:42am

Leonard Gilroy

Friday will mark a historic first: Washington State will become the first of 18 liquor "control" states to fully privatize its state-run monopoly on the wholesale and retail trade in distilled spirits.

Washington State Approves Privatization of State Liquor Monopoly; Other States May Follow

Washington State to become first state to fully privatize state's wholesale, retail liquor monopoly

May 31, 2012

Leonard Gilroy

In November 2011, Washington State voters approved the privatization of the state’s monopoly on the distribution and sale of distilled spirits, becoming the first state in the nation to fully shift wholesale and retail from public to private sector operation and potentially injecting some momentum into privatization efforts in Virginia, Pennsylvania and other states currently exploring similar proposals.

Will States Toast Liquor Privatization in 2012?

Reviewing the landscape for divesting state alcohol monopolies

February 3, 2012

Leonard Gilroy

Despite the end of Prohibition many decades ago, taxpayers and consumers in over a dozen states today still rely on outdated state bureaucracies that retain monopoly control over the sale and/or distribution of distilled spirits (liquor). Not only is it difficult to justify government-run liquor enterprises as a core function of government—they clearly aren’t, since most states don’t have them—but worse, these systems tend to act like the monopolies they are by limiting product choice and making liquor more expensive and less convenient for consumers. However, recent moves by Washington State and Ohio to privatize their liquor monopolies may be upsetting the apple cart and setting the stage for additional states to follow suit.

Getting a Beer in Iowa Is Tougher Than You Think

The Ames straw poll is on Saturday. You probably need a drink.

August 12, 2011

Harry Graver

As the Ames Straw Poll approaches, GOP presidential hopefuls are rolling up the sleeves of their brand new flannel shirts and scrambling to be “the guy you want to have a beer with.” But thanks to outdated regulations and onerous taxes, Harry Graver writes, it’s tougher to get a beer in Iowa than you might think—no matter whom you’re drinking with.

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