Burns: Liquor privatization plan harms small business
Rep. Frank Burns March 22, 2013
'Beer distributors won't be able to compete with out-of-state companies'
HARRISBURG, March 22 – State Rep. Frank Burns, D-Cambria/Somerset, voted against a liquor bill Thursday that he said would put small-business beer distributors out of business.
"I voted against this bill because of what it will do to our mom-and-pop beer distributors," Burns said. "It's inherently unfair to these small businesses. It will cost them their livelihood, as well as eliminate thousands of family-sustaining jobs if this convoluted bill becomes law."
Pennsylvania is home to 1,200 beer distributors, most of them are family owned. They employ and support a combined total of nearly 20,000 jobs.
"Allowing corporate giants to sell beer would dilute the market and force our mom-and-pop distributors to compete against the mega-retailers that don't have to make a profit on every item they sell. That means the corporate retail giants like Wal-Mart and Sheetz could sell beer at their cost, not making a profit, just to get people into the stores. That is something the small-business beer distributor cannot afford to do, thereby driving them out of business.
"This plan will not create jobs, but create more unemployment. The governor's own report on liquor privatization concluded that job creation would be minimal for the big-box retailers, grocers, drug and convenience stores and the smaller retailers. Pennsylvania's unemployment rate is already one of the highest in the nation, and now this plan will add to those numbers."