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VIRGINA'S MONOPOLY ON LIQUOR
Posted by: chris ()
Date: January 19, 2010 05:16PM

Say goodbye to the monopoly Virginia's ABC has on liquor. Governor McDonnell said today he was selling off the stores!

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Re: VIRGINA'S MONOPOLY ON LIQUOR
Posted by: graymoose1 ()
Date: January 19, 2010 05:43PM

and?

---------------------------------------------------
W.W.S.D. what would Scooby Doo

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Re: VIRGINA'S MONOPOLY ON LIQUOR
Posted by: MrMephisto ()
Date: January 19, 2010 06:14PM

Source?

--------------------------------------------------------------
13 4826 0948 82695 25847. Yes.

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Re: VIRGINA'S MONOPOLY ON LIQUOR
Posted by: mikeinreston ()
Date: January 19, 2010 07:18PM


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Re: VIRGINA'S MONOPOLY ON LIQUOR
Posted by: yrmomsksgd ()
Date: January 19, 2010 07:21PM

It's about time. Im sick of driving to the district for a better selection and cheaper booze.

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Re: VIRGINA'S MONOPOLY ON LIQUOR
Posted by: Gravis ()
Date: January 19, 2010 07:54PM

to think you can cut a source of income for the state and then not raise taxes to compensate is just retarded.


"the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."095042938540

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Re: VIRGINA'S MONOPOLY ON LIQUOR
Posted by: eesh ()
Date: January 19, 2010 08:36PM

That sucks for all the ABC store employees that are about to be laid off in this economy. I'm sure knowing how to stock liquor on shelves looks great on a resume.

Blessed are the murderous.

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Re: VIRGINA'S MONOPOLY ON LIQUOR
Posted by: ------------- ()
Date: January 19, 2010 08:41PM

eesh Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>I'm sure knowing how to stock liquor on shelves looks great
> on a resume.

stfu you pretentious little fuck.

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Re: VIRGINA'S MONOPOLY ON LIQUOR
Posted by: eesh ()
Date: January 19, 2010 08:53PM

------------- Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> eesh Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> >I'm sure knowing how to stock liquor on shelves
> looks great
> > on a resume.
>
> stfu you pretentious little fuck.



Well, if you worked for an ABC store for the past few years and suddenly found yourself out of a job, just imagine how that would suck. Sure you could go to one of the new liquor stores that would be opening, but I don't think any of them would have the pay and benefits of a state run store.

Blessed are the murderous.

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Re: VIRGINA'S MONOPOLY ON LIQUOR
Posted by: Melissa ()
Date: January 20, 2010 12:49AM

I actually like ABC stores. They are neat, stocked, and the staff has always been nice. I have been to many-o-liquor store in Maryland, and they are so fucking ghetto with signs all over the windows and an overall skeevy vibe.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Being vague is almost as fun as that other thing.

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Re: VIRGINA'S MONOPOLY ON LIQUOR
Posted by: boredom ()
Date: January 20, 2010 05:25AM

I'm not sure how our new Gov expects to get $500,000,000 from selling liquor store licenses. I'm not sure how many ABC stores there are in Virginia, but if there are more than a few hundred I'll be surprised. That puts a license at 1 million+. That's a large investment not counting that you still need money for inventory, store rent, and employees.

Liquor isn't McDonalds. You aren't selling thousands of items a day.

Now... If he allows grocery stores to buy licenses... That's a shitload of licenses sold and may bring in the 500 mil he wants.

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Re: VIRGINA'S MONOPOLY ON LIQUOR
Posted by: Re: boredom ()
Date: January 20, 2010 07:30AM

Directly from http://www.abc.state.va.us/admin/aboutabc.html:

_____________

With approximately 330 stores in convenient locations throughout the Commonwealth, ABC is dedicated to providing legal-aged adults with an enjoyable, modern shopping environment. ABC offers a wide selection of merchandise with more than 2,000 items on the regular Price List and an additional 250 items available through the Special Order Catalog...

As a major source of revenue for the Commonwealth, ABC has contributed more than $1.5 billion to Virginia's General Fund in the last five years, and more than $6 billion to the General Fund since the first ABC stores opened in 1934. Measures of success as ABC completed Fiscal Year 2009 include a record $665.6 million in annual gross sales. ABC remains committed to measuring our success in balancing control, service and revenue, and providing excellence and accountability to the citizens of Virginia.

_____________

I don't see how selling 330 licenses will make the money they are talking about either...but if you look at it, the average is over 2 mil revenue per store (now I'm sure they dont all do equal business) so even at 1 mil a pop for a license, it could still be profitable.

I would think that if they allowed grocery stores to buy liquor licenses for 'spirits' the competition for the actual ABC stores would make them (ABC stores) un-profitable. Why am I going to make a special trip to a booze dealer when I can pick up a bottle of Beam at Safeway?

Interesting tho - you think that prices will still be 'fixed' by the state? I ask this because it could be really interesting to see how prices will vary by location...that bottle of Johnnie Walker blue label might cost more in McLean than it does in 7-Corners...

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Re: VIRGINA'S MONOPOLY ON LIQUOR
Posted by: Vince(1) ()
Date: January 20, 2010 09:07AM

It's all smoke and mirrors...whatever the money raised by selling the ABC stores is..it's a one time shot in the arm. If you think thats a one time shot in the arm is what VA needs to solve it's revenue problems...fine, problem solved.

I cant wait to see the cuts in services this crusading catholic governor will propose....he cant even keep rest stops closed! Maybe all public schools will be closed and we can return to ole'Virginia where if god wanted you to be edumacated he would have had you borne that way!

Registered Voter...a Big talking coward..big man on FFXU...little man in life.

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Re: VIRGINA'S MONOPOLY ON LIQUOR
Posted by: Father F You ()
Date: January 20, 2010 09:14AM

Vince(1) Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It's all smoke and mirrors...whatever the money
> raised by selling the ABC stores is..it's a one
> time shot in the arm. If you think thats a one
> time shot in the arm is what VA needs to solve
> it's revenue problems...fine, problem solved.
>
> I cant wait to see the cuts in services this
> crusading catholic governor will propose....he
> cant even keep rest stops closed! Maybe all
> public schools will be closed and we can return to
> ole'Virginia where if god wanted you to be
> edumacated he would have had you borne that way!

What does being Catholic have to do with anything?

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Re: VIRGINA'S MONOPOLY ON LIQUOR
Posted by: Vince(1) ()
Date: January 20, 2010 09:19AM

The catholic church has become a major political force in the state andin the country.

Abortion Debate Shows the Catholic Bishops' Growing Influence
In recent weeks, the bishops have shown impressive political clout
By Dan Gilgoff
Posted December 17, 2009
Last month's passage of a sweeping ban on federal funding for abortion in the House healthcare bill caught most of Washington by surprise. The Democratic House leadership is closely aligned with the party's pro-abortion rights base, which alleged the ban would roll back abortion access for many women by keeping coverage for the procedure out of federally subsidized healthcare plans. And for abortion rights activists, the central role of the Roman Catholic bishops in pressing House leaders to allow a vote on the ban, known as the Stupak-Pitts amendment—and in helping prod 64 Democratic congressmen to support it—was as galling as the ban itself. "It is extremely unfortunate," Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards said at the time, "that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and antichoice opponents were able to hijack the healthcare reform bill in their dedicated attempt to ban all legal abortion in the United States."


Antiabortion activists were just as surprised. "I did not think the bishops would have that degree of success with Stupak," says Bill Donohue, president of the conservative Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.

It's hardly the only example of the bishops' impressive political influence on a hot-button issue in recent weeks. The Catholic archdiocese of Portland, Maine, played a lead role in passing a ballot initiative last month that overturned the state's legalization of gay marriage. Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy, a Democrat, recently disclosed that his bishop had asked him to forgo Communion because of Kennedy's support for abortion rights. And Nebraska Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson revealed last week that he consulted with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in crafting an amendment to the healthcare bill that approximates the strict House ban on federal abortion funding. (Nelson's proposal was defeated.)

The developments mark a newly aggressive political posture for the American bishops. And a string of successes is very likely to embolden them further. Which means that Democrats can expect strong opposition from the bishops if their final healthcare bill lacks a Stupak-like ban on federal dollars for abortion, as the Senate version does. "After the recent success on the Hill [with Stupak], there's an effort on the part of the bishops to be more active on issues of morality," says Stephen Schneck, director of the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies at the Catholic University of America.

Few would have predicted as influential a public role for the bishops earlier in this decade, when the priest abuse scandal rocked the American Catholic Church. "In 2003, we were all saying that the bishops' credibility was so badly damaged that they were essentially cooked as political players," says John Allen, senior correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter. "That's what's most striking: They've weathered the storm and continue to be effective political players."

Part of the bishops' influence is explained by sheer numbers. Nearly a quarter of the American electorate identifies as Roman Catholic, and 6 in 10 of that quarter say they attend mass at least once a month. But just as important are the bishops' deep ties to officials in both political parties, an increasingly rare attribute of interest groups in Washington, where the bishops conference's staff is headquartered. (Nearly 300 American bishops serve in dioceses across the country). Though the bishops' conservative views on abortion and gay marriage line up with the Republican Party, their stance on immigration and their support for healthcare as a "fundamental right" more or less mirror Democratic positions. Says Allen: "The bishops are the only players on the religious landscape that can put together certain bipartisan coalitions."

That is why their lobbyists have secured meetings with Democrats from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on down regarding abortion concerns in healthcare reform while evangelical abortion foes have been strategizing mostly with out-of-power Republican allies. "Some conservative Catholics are hard on the bishops for liberal stances on social issues," says Donohue. "But it gave them a seat at the table on Stupak."

The Catholic Church's hierarchical structure provides another political benefit: making it clear that the bishops speak for the church. Though evangelicals have gained political power in recent decades, an ever changing cast of political leaders from dozens of different denominations makes it difficult for elected officials to tell who represents the movement. More liberal mainline churches, meanwhile, are split on issues like abortion and gay marriage, and their declining numbers have curbed their political clout. "Where are the mainline Protestant churches on questions of morality?" asks Schneck. "The prominent voices in the civil rights struggles have been silenced."

Registered Voter...a Big talking coward..big man on FFXU...little man in life.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/2010 09:27AM by Vince(1).

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Re: VIRGINA'S MONOPOLY ON LIQUOR
Posted by: Registered Voter ()
Date: January 20, 2010 10:00AM

It certainly won't become like Maryland. They are selling the stores, and allowing private companies to run them. They will still get a hefty bit of tax off liquor sales - I am pretty sure if you look at the bottom line, they are losing little to nothing in revenue in the long term as a result, but in the short term they will get $500M (or so) boost for selling off the stores. It's not like ABC controls are going away, just the ownership and running of the stores will now be private.

Win-win as far as I can see. Even if they eliminate the store paid clerk positions, those folks will most likely get jobs with the new companies or perhaps transition to other positions in the State government. It isn't like liquor stores are going away.

If you can’t model the past, where you know the answer pretty well, how can you model the future? - William Happer Cyrus Fogg Brackett Professor of Physics Princeton University

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Re: VIRGINA'S MONOPOLY ON LIQUOR
Posted by: curious ()
Date: January 20, 2010 12:07PM

"I actually like ABC stores. They are neat, stocked, and the staff has always been nice. I have been to many-o-liquor store in Maryland, and they are so fucking ghetto with signs all over the windows and an overall skeevy vibe."

+1 Agreed.

Despite my youthful anger at the ABC stores from preventing underage purchase of liquor, I now support having safe, clean, professional liquor stores.

The ABC system in Virginia has two important missions- it allows widespread sales of beer and wine (many other state regulate wine in the same way as liquor) and limits hard liquor sales to sober individuals.

In my opinion, (old) McDnonnell's plan is to basically give away a successful state business that has existed for 75 years. I understand the idea that government should not be involved in enterprise, but the ABC system is a Virginia tradition and seems to work very well for the state.

I am in favor of loosening other ABC regulations, such as the bizarre ban on "saloons" in favor of requiring all bars to get 45% of their revenue from food sales. Many people just want to drink in bars or nightclubs and eat in restaurants. From personal experience in Richmond, I have often bought a few beers at a bar/restaurant, then received a check with a couple chicken salad's listed on the bill. Ha- just pay the tab and don't ask any questions . . .

In conclusion, if Democrats proposed selling the ABC stores, the Republicans would be outraged at the immorality! But when they do it themselves . . .

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Re: VIRGINA'S MONOPOLY ON LIQUOR
Posted by: Protestant ()
Date: January 20, 2010 12:26PM

Vince(1) Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The catholic church has become a major political
> force in the state andin the country.

Yet, I am sure you line up right behind them when it comes to immigration and the death penalty. Did you vote for Tim Kaine (a Catholic)?

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Re: VIRGINA'S MONOPOLY ON LIQUOR
Posted by: Vince(1) ()
Date: January 20, 2010 12:43PM

Protestant Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Vince(1) Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The catholic church has become a major
> political
> > force in the state andin the country.
>
> Yet, I am sure you line up right behind them when
> it comes to immigration and the death penalty.
> Did you vote for Tim Kaine (a Catholic)?


I would be more then happy to discuss the difference between Catholic politicians..who in the tradition of JFK..can and did seperate their faith from their public service. These new breed of Catholics..like their evangelical protestant brethren in the tradition of Pat Robertson cannot and do not seperate the two.

Registered Voter...a Big talking coward..big man on FFXU...little man in life.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/2010 12:44PM by Vince(1).

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Re: VIRGINA'S MONOPOLY ON LIQUOR
Posted by: Vince(1) ()
Date: January 20, 2010 12:45PM

curious Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "I actually like ABC stores. They are neat,
> stocked, and the staff has always been nice. I
> have been to many-o-liquor store in Maryland, and
> they are so fucking ghetto with signs all over the
> windows and an overall skeevy vibe."
>
> +1 Agreed.
>
> Despite my youthful anger at the ABC stores from
> preventing underage purchase of liquor, I now
> support having safe, clean, professional liquor
> stores.
>
> The ABC system in Virginia has two important
> missions- it allows widespread sales of beer and
> wine (many other state regulate wine in the same
> way as liquor) and limits hard liquor sales to
> sober individuals.
>
> In my opinion, (old) McDnonnell's plan is to
> basically give away a successful state business
> that has existed for 75 years. I understand the
> idea that government should not be involved in
> enterprise, but the ABC system is a Virginia
> tradition and seems to work very well for the
> state.
>
> I am in favor of loosening other ABC regulations,
> such as the bizarre ban on "saloons" in favor of
> requiring all bars to get 45% of their revenue
> from food sales. Many people just want to drink in
> bars or nightclubs and eat in restaurants. From
> personal experience in Richmond, I have often
> bought a few beers at a bar/restaurant, then
> received a check with a couple chicken salad's
> listed on the bill. Ha- just pay the tab and don't
> ask any questions . . .
>
> In conclusion, if Democrats proposed selling the
> ABC stores, the Republicans would be outraged at
> the immorality! But when they do it themselves . .
> .


+1

Registered Voter...a Big talking coward..big man on FFXU...little man in life.

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Re: VIRGINA'S MONOPOLY ON LIQUOR
Posted by: i > u ()
Date: January 21, 2010 07:51AM

Who the fuck is Virgina?

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