Reason Foundation

Recent Research and Commentary

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Despite the end of Prohibition many decades ago, taxpayers and consumers in over a dozen states today still rely on outdated state bureaucracies that retain monopoly control over the sale and/or distribution of distilled spirits (liquor).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 But thanks to outdated regulations and onerous taxes, Harry Graver writes, it’s tougher to get a beer in Iowa than you might think—no matter whom you’re drinking with.

Obama's War on Fun

The president breathes new life into the Nanny State

May 17, 2011

Gene Healy

You're not a real president until you fight a metaphorical "war" on a social problem, observes Gene Healy. So, to LBJ's "War on Povery" and Reagan's "War on Drugs," it's time to add Barack Obama's "War on Fun." Like the "War on Terror," it's being fought on too many fronts, from alcohol and tobacco to unpasteurized milk and online poker.

New at Reason: Review of State Privatization Issues in 2010 and Today

February 18, 2011, 3:48pm

Harris Kenny

The rollout of Reason Foundation's Annual Privatization Report 2010 continues today with the release of the State Government Privatization section, authored by Reason's Leonard Gilroy, Harris Kenny, Shirley Ybarra and Tyler Millhouse.

Wet at Last

Dallas legalizes alcohol.

February 1, 2011

Jacob Sullum

Californians did not legalize marijuana in November, but Dallasites did finally manage to legalize alcohol. By a margin of nearly 2 to 1, voters approved a ballot initiative that allows grocery and convenience stores throughout the city to sell beer and wi

When Booze Was Banned but Pot Was Not

What can today’s antiprohibitionists learn from their predecessors?

January 13, 2011

Jacob Sullum

Of the 27 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the 18th is the only one explicitly aimed at restricting people’s freedom. It is also the only one that has ever been repealed. Maybe that’s encouraging, especially for those of us who recognize the parallels between that amendment, which ushered in the nationwide prohibition of alcohol, and current bans on other drugs.

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