Privatizing liquor sales is a bad idea

To The Eagle:

As a retired public safety officer who served a major metropolitan area of California where liquor was available at all but four hours of the morning, 2 a.m. to 6 a.m., and had to respond to the consequences of that open market, I'm concerned that too many Washington voters have overlooked the most tragic potential of privatizing liquor sales in our state, initiative measure 1100 and 1105.

I agree with the current sheriffs in Wahkiakum and Cowlitz counties as well as the current prosecuting attorneys in both counties who oppose I-1100 and I-1105.

Privatizing liquor sales, as proposed by the out-of-state distributors who are sponsoring this profit-grab, will assuredly lead to incentives for the likely 3300 new sales outlets to clear many of their shelves for high-profit liquor sales.

Some people have been lured into believing that passing these measures will lead to lower liquor prices without thinking about where will we make up for the loss of local revenue that comes from state liquor sales presently providing funding to public safety, police, fire and ambulance services, public health care and education. Would a state income tax be in the offing?

More prolific availability with less supervision of who is purchasing liquor will lead to more public intoxication, a higher likelihood of underage consumption and abuse by binge drinkers. Consider the problem drinker who runs out of alcohol at midnight. No problem under privatized liquor sales, just get to the nearest convenience store that's open and renew your supply, as long as you get there before 2 a.m.

The claim that privatizing liquor sales will lead to more jobs is absurd. If you owned a convenience store that's open 24 hours, and you have cleared shelf space to sell hard alcohol, would you hire an extra clerk to serve your customers? The reality is that the major supporters of I-110 and I-1105, Wal-Mart, Costco and Safeway, won't need any additional staff to sell liquor from shelves used to display other items.

The fiscal loss to our cash-strapped state would be disastrous if these measures pass, but the big concern for me would be the public safety issue. We shouldn't encourage the conditions that will lead to greater abuse of liquor in our homes (domestic abuse) and on our roads and highways (DUI accidents).

The backers of I-110 and I-1105 have done their homework. Through careful demographics, they've found that selling privatized liquor sales in Washington is the "foot in the door" to getting privatized liquor sales on the ballots in Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Utah.

Let's deliver the message: "We care about public safety too much to ruin a system that is working.

Craig Brown

Cathlamet