Cocktails & Conversation
This past week I got a nice little reminder about how outdated and antiquated Indiana’s alcohol laws are. I was heading back to the house after teaching class when my wife called asking me to pick up a few items from the grocery store. While I was there I decided a 6-pack of beer would be nice. So I walked over to the beer section and then I was reminded that in Indiana, I can’t get cold beer in a grocery store. I was not a happy camper.
I picked up the things my wife asked for and after I left made a trip to the local liquor store. I got my cold beer, but I also had to pay more to get it; an entire dollar more. Now I know a dollar is no big deal for someone who drops $10 on a good martini. My complaint is that I couldn’t get what I wanted where I wanted because of what primarily amounts to protectionism.
There is no logical reason why cold beer sales should not be allowed in grocery stores. Just like there is no logical reasons why retail alcohol sales should not be allowed on Sundays. The liquor store industry argues that allowing cold beer sales in grocery stores and Sunday alcohol sales will hurt “mom and pop” outlets. I don’t doubt some people might go out of business but is it the job of the government to protect certain segments of the economy at the expense of others?
If you are a smart businessman I’m sure you can compete with the big box stores. You have to do business a little differently and perhaps adopt a different model, but there’s no reason why smart, aggressive entrepreneurs can’t give the big guys a run for their money. And there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to get a cold beer in a grocery store and not have to drive somewhere else and pay more for the same product that’s 30 degrees colder.
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Job Update: If you read my post from the other day you know I’m “looking” for work. Well I had a job offer at 10:30 yesterday morning. It was a limo driver position that paid $13 an hour. I couldn’t take it though, because it was offered by a friend who listens to the morning show, which technically violates my networking guidelines. It would have been fun though. After all I did play the “Hoke” in the stage version of “Driving Ms. Daisy” so as long as my passengers looked like Jessica Tandy, I would have been in great shape.
