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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowYour editorial is wrong [Liquor laws fail us again, Sept. 12]. Our liquor laws do not fail us. U.S. liquor laws (which are slightly different in all 50 states) have proven to be the safest, fairest way to deliver beverage alcohol in the world for the past 83 years. Do they need to be changed on occasion? Yes. But we have made mistakes doing so before, and if we are not careful, we will make mistakes doing so again. It is hard to undo unintended (or cleverly disguised intended) consequences. First, do no harm.
Monarch Beverage is a for-profit business. It is well-run, well-financed, and the most successful distributor of alcoholic beverages in the history of Indiana. Good for them. But it has not spent millions of dollars on lobbyists and lawyers for the past 8-10 years to try to be able to distribute liquor as well as their currently allowed beer and wine for the good of Indiana’s alcohol consumers. It is for the good of Monarch Beverage only. That’s what good, well-run companies do.
The alcohol industry in Indiana is complicated, especially after 83 years of evolution. It is in basic balance. Every change causes winners and losers, every time, and Indiana family-owned companies are impacted, every time.
Please don’t think our alcohol laws are failing us. They are not. Monarch Beverage is failing us with their deep pockets and never-ending quest to change the laws to their favor.
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Marc Carmichael, president
Indiana Beverage Alliance
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