By Dick Miller
WE.CONNECT.DOTS: Trying to privatize liquor in PA exposes all the warts and defects of our self-centered leaders in Harrisburg.
Contrary to the demands of Wendell Young, leader of the union that protects employees of the Liquor Control Board, the issue of making booze more available in one of the last two states (the other is Utah) is worthy of public discussion.
Democrat legislators do Young’s bidding. They did not anticipate that a majority of Democrats voters polled say it is time to inject more convenience and competition into buying liquor, wine and beer. Defenders of the jobs lamely say making booze more available is bad. Problem is there are no studies showing alcohol consumed creates more danger in states that permit open sales.
Actually, very little of the blame for no liquor privatization to date should be attributed to the Democrats. Liquor privatization is one of a number of issues that should have routinely become law, given the control Republicans claim in Harrisburg. The GOP has decent majorities in both the House and Senate.
Like other major issues, Gov. Tom Corbett launched this one in stumbling fashion. Nearly all Governors and Presidents enjoy a honeymoon at the beginning of their regime. Corbett waited until his third year in office to introduce the legislation.
In fact, other than beating up on public education, Corbett waited until the beginning of 2013 to get serious about a number of issues – transportation funding, pension reform, private management at the lottery, Medicaid expansion.
Corbett is one of the first Governors to learn that “gerrymandering” has drawbacks. During Corbett’s first year in office (2011), he used the legislative majorities to ram home a re-drawing of boundaries of voting districts for lawmakers to run for re-election in 2012. Because they come from safe districts, many Republican legislators do not need Corbett or the Party to remain in office.
Moderate Republicans are not eager to take on the unions by voting for liquor privatization. Republican House Majority Leader Mike Turzai has complicated matters further by attempting to tie the liquor vote (favored more by House Republicans) with transportation funding (favored more by Senate Republicans).
This might have worked until America’s Future Fund (AFF), a right-wing money group, announced it was targeting moderate Republicans in next year’s state district primaries. AFF is not happy with Republicans who stall on liquor legislation nor who support transportation funding and Medicaid expansion. A new funding bill roads and bridges is the same as “raising taxes.” Corbett’s version of the new Medicaid keeps his insurance friends in action.
Which brings us back to the need for a few Democrat votes. In the nearly three years Republican majorities and a Republican governor have been in place in Harrisburg, Democrat strategy has been absurd. They claim voters re-elected them to go to Harrisburg and … do nothing. They hunker down, believing if they do not help run state government, blame will fall only on Republicans.
Certainly, no one can accuse Democrats of taking the high road.
With a state workforce of 70,000, nearly three-quarters of liquor workers who lose that job through privatization can be blended into continued employment through attrition. The remainder is made eligible for some type of early retirement package.
How privatization takes place is important to a Democrat constituency. Corbett may favor a structure for wine and beer that would favor Wal-Mart, looking for campaign checks from Bentonville, AR. Keeping the state in wholesale control of spirits with retail licenses tailored to small businesses would create more jobs.
Former Bucks County State Sen. Joe Conti is the only consistent winner in the liquor battles. Gov. Ed Rendell, a Democrat, appointed Conti, a Republican, to the lucrative job of CEO of PA Liquor Control Board. He retired from that $156,700-a-year post, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, in February. He immediately returned as a part-time $80-an-hour LCB consultant. He quit that in July and is now a registered lobbyist, representing unionized state store workers.
BOTTOM LINE: “Compromise” is nearly as rare in Harrisburg as it is in Washington. With liquor privatization look for Republicans to help their contributors and Democrats to head into 2014 claiming no blame for anything.
Perhaps Democrats are doing nothing in Harrisburg, but it is the Republicans who have done nothing constructive in Washington.