liquor
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More Lipstick on a Liquor Monopoly Pig: MoCo ABS Launches a Podcast
Read more: More Lipstick on a Liquor Monopoly Pig: MoCo ABS Launches a PodcastMontgomery County Alcohol Beverage Services (aka the County’s Corporate Liquor Monopoly, profiled in our series here by Clean Slate’s Michael Bell) is launching a podcast… “Spirited Discussions”. An August 14 County press release / update announced it: “Montgomery County Alcohol Beverage Services (ABS) has introduced a new podcast series, Spirited Discussions: A Podcast by Montgomery…
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Booze in MoCo: Part 4, How to Dismantle the ABS Monopoly
Read more: Booze in MoCo: Part 4, How to Dismantle the ABS MonopolyIn May 1773, the British parliament passed the Tea Act that granted the British East India Company, a government-chartered corporate monopoly with exclusive rights to sell tea in the colonies, to collect tax on that tea at the port. Americans, enraged at a tea tax being imposed without their due representation, reacted by boarding one…
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Booze in MoCo: Part 3, Who Benefits from the ABS Monopoly?
Read more: Booze in MoCo: Part 3, Who Benefits from the ABS Monopoly?In Part 1 of this series we introduced the county’s corporate liquor monopoly Alcohol Beverage Services, and in Part 2 we refuted every single claim ABS gives to justify its existence. In this installment we’ll provide an indication of who really does benefit from the county’s corporate liquor monopoly. When we ask who benefits from…
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Booze in MoCo: Part 2, Debunking the ABS’s Justifications
Read more: Booze in MoCo: Part 2, Debunking the ABS’s JustificationsThis is part 2 in a 4 part series debunking the excuses ABS uses to justify its existence, identify who benefits from this monopoly, and what (if anything) can be done to dismantle it. You can read part 1 here. The county’s Alcoholic Beverage Service justifies its corporate monopoly in the following video. Viewing with…
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Booze in MoCo: Part 1, How We Buy Alcoholic Beverages
Read more: Booze in MoCo: Part 1, How We Buy Alcoholic BeveragesThis is part 1 in a 4 part series debunking the excuses ABS uses to justify its existence, identify who benefits from this monopoly, and what (if anything) can be done to dismantle it. John and Jerry, residents of Silver Spring, are preparing a small summer wedding and an even smaller reception. They go to…
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Not the Onion: County Exec Elrich Lauds the “Health and Safety Benefits” of Government Liquor Distribution
Read more: Not the Onion: County Exec Elrich Lauds the “Health and Safety Benefits” of Government Liquor DistributionLiquor, lotto, pot. The foundations of a thriving, “healthy” and “equitable” Montgomery County economy and people are all around us in 2023. Oh, and did you know that the community center gyms are “free” now? Ok, that was snark. But it isn’t far from the truth. On January 27th, County Exec Elrich wants you to…
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Not ‘The Onion’: MoCo Government “Alcohol Beverage Services” Department Spending Revenue on Beverage Coasters to “Curb Drunk Driving”
Read more: Not ‘The Onion’: MoCo Government “Alcohol Beverage Services” Department Spending Revenue on Beverage Coasters to “Curb Drunk Driving”Montgomery County, Maryland is one of the only county governments in the entire United States of America that controls the retail sale, distribution and wholesaling of liquor and spirits, while simultaneously controlling the whole-sale distribution of beer and wine to retailers and restaurants / bars as well. This means hundreds of thousands of adult patrons…