They’re back. The arguments to send Connecticut blue laws back into the history bin is always entertaining. Armed with a new economic report, the legislature is planning to review Sunday liquor sales in Connecticut.
On the one side, the legislature is facing a deficit that can only be softened by somehow figuring out new revenue sources. On the other side, the package store association that argues that opening package stores on Sunday would either a) force package stores out of business or b) dilute sales that would otherwise occur Monday through Saturday.
Then there’s all the other special interests that will come out and pick a side to promote whatever morality is selling at the moment. If the legislature was smart, they’d hold the hearings on a Sunday, offer free samples, and see what happens.
The legislatures have a report that says that the State would pick up an extra 7 to 8 million dollars in tax revenues. The package store association says that number is inflated. Needless to point out that the package store association doesn’t watch football on Sundays. Grocery stores, right before the game, between games and after games, seem to do a pretty good business with people who are adorned with NFL team apparel. Perhaps the package stores real problem is that they don’t sell the munchies along with the beer and feel left out.
That brings up the question of why do we have package stores in the first place? Nothing like traveling to another city and seeing grocery stores selling all the ingredients for a mojito that includes fresh mint, ginger and limes as well as 31 flavors of rum.
It’s not like restaurants in Connecticut aren’t open on Sundays. Somehow Hartford doesn’t have a problem with restaurants serving alcohol on Sundays. Does anyone really think that the Sunday restaurants hours take away from business during the rest of the week? Some restaurants are even closed Mondays, voluntarily. Some close for lunch. Somehow they all manage to stay in business.
The report also points out that border towns perform 35-45% below sales in on border towns. This would indicate that price and convenience, the two pillars of any retail establishment, seem to work against Connecticut broder towns. Something State Senator John Kissel-R had the best quote on the subject in Chris Keating’s Courant report, ” Massachusetts and New York and Rhode Island laugh at us sometimes because we are so slow to change. I think that argument [for Sunday sales] has strong grounds now.”
I like my home state of NH’s methods. NH State Liqour stores work great for the residents and the state! I’ve always been a big fan.
I don’t understand how being open on Sundays will force a business to close. They can stagger their employees’ hours so that all hours are covered; they could give a (small) bonus to employees willing to work on Sundays (and in this economy there should be a plethora of people willing to work on Sundays); they could hire part time employees to work only on weekend days; and so on.
IMHO, the biggest complainant here appear to be the owners of the package stores who don’t want to have to work on Sundays. Which could be resolved simply by promoting a trusted employee and putting that person in charge for the day – or having another family member work that day instead. Frankly, I can’t figure out why people don’t want to make whatever money they can in this current economy. If these package store owners are so concerned that they’ll be driven out of business by the larger liquor stores who most likely will take advantage of this change of law if it’s passed, then maybe they should rethink their objections to it. In any case, nobody is going to force them to remain open; they can open or close on whatever days they see fit. But when you figure that these same owners complain when they’re required to close – such as on Election Day – it seems ridiculous for them to object now.
I can understand the concern of the liquor store owners for businesses that are small family operations. There may be only two or three people who can run the stores, and they just about make it by scheduling them six days per week. They may not turn enough profit to be open on Sunday. However, the intent of the law wasn’t to help these small business people to stay in business; it was to observe the Christian Sabbath. Those of us who are old enough to remember can recall when there were very few businesses allowed to open on Sundays. Malls were closed, as were almost all other types of stores.
The problem with the law then and the portion of it that survives now is that it protects religious interests for those who observe a Sunday Sabbath, and I don’t see how that is Constitutional. I will appreciate any reasonable explanation.
Well it is indeed a sad day when we cannot understand why a small business owner might want to stay home with his family on a Sunday. While I may personally enjoy being able to purchase adult beverages on a Sunday, I do understand the problems with owning a small business, and trying to find trustworthy, dependable employees. When a small liquor store is sited for selling to underage buyers and ultimately fined or forced to close for a while, it may be the difference between making the rent or not. While the retention of this blue law may not be constitutional, it is pointless to give the legislature another bunch of money to spend, it will never be enough, like any addiction…they will just want more and more. They already spend like drunken sailors, why give them anymore?…..I think I need a drink!
Hey, let’s take a simple situation and make it so legislatively complicated to make it unworkable for all parties.
Rescind the ban on beer and wine, and only allow hard liquor to be sold at package stores, which remain closed on Sundays. Other states have no problem selling beer and wine in supermarkets. State run stores (like in NH) only feed into the frenzy of having “government” in control (I know it works fine in New Hampshire but that’s still a libertarian no-no for these uber-right wing zealots).
Has anyone done a study on how much revenue we lose by people scooting over the state lines to buy beer on Sundays? I don’t just mean Fairfield County and New York but Massachusetts as well. There may be other considerations, but I WANT QUESTIONS!
In the south (possibly other places but this I know first-hand) you can buy not just beer but also wine in the grocery store 7 days a week, including after noon on Sunday. No need for extra employees, no need for an extra errand if all you need is a bottle of wine for dinner/cooking.
And we like to think we’re more civilized up here than they are?
I like Louisiana’s liquor laws where you have drive-up bars. You can get a bourbon to go — with a lid and a straw. Now that’s my idea of civilization.
just asking: Texas too.