What’s this about? *Walgreens in Gig Harbor*Submitted by discodawg02 t3_yy03s1 in Washington
Proffesssor t1_iwsfqcf wrote
Reply to comment by brittanym922 in What’s this about? *Walgreens in Gig Harbor* by discodawg02
ironic since costco f'd up our liquor laws.
kjimbro t1_iwstcdi wrote
With Tim chair thief Eyman.
StinkyEttin t1_iwt4caq wrote
I absolutely adore how he's "that dude that stole a chair" now. Love it. Inslee ragged him about it at one point. :: chef's kiss::
Apprehensive_Deer555 t1_iwsh3ma wrote
How so?
Edit: thanks for the explanation, guys. I'm a transplant so these liquor laws are bizarre.
FrothytheDischarge t1_iwsibih wrote
They are the ones who wrote & lobbied the law themselves that supported big box stores when it came to distribution. Thus screwing smaller private business owners who wanted in. Many smaller alcohol & sprits stores went bankrupt 1-2 years after opening.
RemarkableDisaster92 t1_iwt7vd0 wrote
You forgot to mention that prior to Costco you could only buy from WA. State liquor Control Board (the state government owned and operated all the liquor stores). And when that law passed the state was required to either sell or close the stores owned and operated by the state. The law also stated that you had to have at least 10,000 square feet of retail sales space.
[deleted] t1_iwtbeqv wrote
The state also had lots of small stores around the state that sold liquor - I guess acting as an agent of the state, keeping sales separate.
RemarkableDisaster92 t1_iwtbv14 wrote
I don't know what it was like on the Westside of Washington but whe i was in Eastern Washington you could only buy from the state there weren't any private owned stores that I was aware of.
[deleted] t1_iwtdppo wrote
There were contract stores all over the state that sold state liquor:
"...contract stores that sold spirits for the state in less populated areas... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4608622/
Like the little store in "downtown" Roslyn that had liquor on the wall behind the counter. Or the grocery store out in Ilwaco that had a gated off section to sell alcohol.
MangledUpInBlue t1_iwsjfy7 wrote
…and we end up with higher prices and a nearly 30% tax.
dredbeast t1_iwstchx wrote
The taxes were already included in the price prior to the law change when they were state run. After the change we added another middleman, and the state was going to get their same cut.
hyrailer t1_iwuk655 wrote
"...their same cut" is taxes. You are implying that the state-operated stores made a profit, which they did not. Costco and Safeway, the two corporations that lobbied aggressively for the chance to sell you alcohol at a +30% markup (but told everyone they'd sell it cheaper because of their size), also collects the same alcohol taxes. Are you paying less, as they told you would happen? Definitely not. Did it create any new jobs? No. Actually, over 5,500 state employees attached to state liquor sales lost their jobs.
Much of this discussion is fed by republicans who would like to think they somehow "owned the libs" by taking away government control of a commodity and handing it over to 2 large corporations so they can make a huge profit. The truth is, everyone now pays a lot more, because you were duped.
doublediggler t1_iwtk8co wrote
Would you like to have a bunch of small liquor stores pop up close to your neighborhood? Imagine what that would do to your property values. Much more sensible to sell alcohol at established big box stores.
Paid_Corporate_Shill t1_iwuyczb wrote
A bunch? Realistically every neighborhood only needs one. It’d be cool to be able to walk to a liquor store rather than get in the car and go to Fred Meyer.
RevengeOfTheDong t1_iwt0bxm wrote
No, greedy ass state politicians did that all on their own. Only problem with the liquor laws here is the taxes.
Cut spending on worthless bullshit like “raising awareness about homelessness” and cut the taxes.
warbeforepeace t1_iwu24an wrote
Maybe alcohol should be taxed according to the cost and harm it does to the community. 30% is probably right for that.
RevengeOfTheDong t1_iwuguim wrote
Ah so you want the government to dictate morality. Sounds like you should move to Iran, they even have a police force specifically to do this!
Paid_Corporate_Shill t1_iwuyis4 wrote
Least unhinged libertarian
warbeforepeace t1_iwv932y wrote
Not about the morality to it but the cost of things should take into account the cost to society.
RevengeOfTheDong t1_iwx7vku wrote
Like what exactly? How are these taxes being used to mitigate that damage vs just filling general fund coffers? I’m talking about direct action not bullshit grift programs like “raising awareness” or whatever.
warbeforepeace t1_iwx87uq wrote
Increased cost of healthcare , law enforcement, criminal activity due to alcohol. Washington’s goes in to main revenue fund. It helps go to these costs and preventing something like an income tax in the state.
RevengeOfTheDong t1_iwxgs57 wrote
Ah so yeah, it goes into grifting bullshit “general fund”
Show me that money going directly to what’s it intended for or it’s just the state reaching into the pockets of the working class for no good reason.
warbeforepeace t1_iwxh4vm wrote
Seems like you need to do a bit of research on what taxes go toward. Just because you dont' benefit from every dollar spent directly doesn't mean you are not in benefit of the money spent. As someone that pays more taxes than most people, i don't agree with everything my taxes are spent on but do understand the reasoning of why they choose to invest in x.
RevengeOfTheDong t1_iwxipzy wrote
No that’s not at all what I’m saying. What I’m saying is that if the government is specifically taxing something “because of all the harm it does society” and then doesn’t actually spend that money exclusively on those issues then it’s a fucking scam.
warbeforepeace t1_iwxiwbt wrote
I doubt alcohol tax covers the cost that the state government pays for services i mentioned above. 24b of the budget alone is spent on health care.
RevengeOfTheDong t1_iwxjlxq wrote
Pretty sure it’s about double that and I’ve never been able to find a good breakdown of the actual costs. Run a business like that and you’ll go to jail for fraud.
warbeforepeace t1_iwxkdmo wrote
Im not sure what part of the revenue category it falls in but Washington state brought in 53b in 2021. 48b of it is not from alcohol tax.
https://www.wastatepta.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2021-Citizens-Guide-to-Operating-Budget.pdf
Companies don't have to disclose alot of information. They use private subsidiaries to hide any detailed financial breakdowns they want. They government is held to a much higher level of transparency than even a public company.
beatansem t1_iwv3nrl wrote
It doesn’t take morals to see that alcohol is a legal poison 🤷🏼♀️
RevengeOfTheDong t1_iwx88tj wrote
There are a lot of people that feel the same way, with just as much certainty, about gay marriage or a whole host of other “moral issues”. You are strengthening their arguments here with attitudes like that…..
“It’s only the things that I personally don’t like that we should have the government regulate”
beatansem t1_iwx9emk wrote
I am not thinking that much into this take I’m just not upset that alcohol is expensive or otherwise more difficult to access considering it’s harmful effects (big and small)
RevengeOfTheDong t1_iwxias5 wrote
Hope you feel the same way about junk food, fast food, and a whole bunch of other every day products which are terrible for your health
Paid_Corporate_Shill t1_iwximqk wrote
I actually do
RevengeOfTheDong t1_iwxulwd wrote
At least you’re ideologically consistent then.
But do realize that your logic is consistent with that of the taliban.
Proffesssor t1_iwx8e23 wrote
> state politicians did that all on their own.
they had nothing to do with it. Costco wrote the initiative, gathered the signatures, spent a boatload promoting it and the people narrowly voted for it, unfortunately.
RevengeOfTheDong t1_iwxh4ab wrote
No I’m talking about the bullshit morality police that first decided that certain products were, usually according to their religion, sinful and should be taxed higher. If it were about health you’d see fast food at 30%+ taxes as well since that’s a much larger (pun intended) issue in society.
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