monopoly
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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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One Function of Public Schools: Diversity
Read more: One Function of Public Schools: DiversityI had an enriching discussion with a principal at one of the county’s public schools. “What do you think about school choice or school vouchers? There are parents who see in their child the next Einstein, and others who see in them the next Andrew Lloyd Weber. In either case they prefer a school offering…
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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…