Posted on 07/01/2014 1:56:36 PM PDT by MichCapCon
Your beer and wine costs more than it should because Michigan has anti-competitive rules that benefit wholesalers instead of consumers.
That's because of "post and hold" rules that mandate that alcohol wholesalers and manufacturers post price changes for beer and wine and then leave them in place for a specific amount of time, said Michael LaFaive, director or the Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
Locking in prices allows companies to coordinate pricing with their so-called competition, he said.
At the Michigan Liquor Control Commission's semi-annual public hearing on Thursday, the Mackinac Center submitted a formal request to the agency to rescind the state's post and hold rules.
Once prices are posted, they have to be held at that level for a specific amount of time. Prices on beer must be held steady for 180 days; three months for wine. Changes can only be made with permission from the Liquor Control Commission.
According to liquor law experts, post and hold laws were created to ensure that all businesses buy their alcohol at the same price. Quantity discounts are not allowed. Wholesalers have to sell their products to retailers at the same price. The idea is the smaller stores are protected from the bigger chains. But it leads to non-competitive pricing, according to a study done in 2014 at Columbia University.
Another study, done at George Mason University, found that post and hold laws can add up to $2.24 to the cost of a six pack of beer, and up to $1.10 for a bottle of wine.
"This is just one of many examples of Michigan’s archaic regulations that stifles competition, harms consumers and enriches wholesalers," LaFaive said in a press release. "It effectively imposes a form of government-facilitated price collusion."
Waaaa! I’m denied access! I want my employer to provide free drinks.
Your beer and wine cost more because of this suck azz Obama economy!
Hell, everything costs more since that looser took office, but the media fails to report those facts!!!
Without such price controls, there would be absolutely no small time distributors left in the state who could possibly compete against the major manufacturers of the chain beers..........
It all comes down to distribution which the majors have a monopoly on and the locals do not...........
That too. But I’ve also read, that there is a supply problem with hops. With all the craft beers springing up, and all the various varieties they call for, the hop growers can’t keep up. New growers are springing up to try and address the issue, especially concerning the craft brewers, but they face the problem of having to wait for the plants to mature, and then betting on growing the right variety for their market in the first place.
IIRC - The vast majority of hops produced in this country come out of the Pacific Northwest. Mostly Wa.
But, you’re right. It is because of this suck ass economy. It bad enough to drive anyone to drink. I imagine consumption has spiked as well.
I once heard an old axiom from my grandfather. It doesn’t matter what else is going on in the world, for good or bad, perople are always going to want two things. Land and booze.
I doubt it originated with him, I’ve heard it elsewhere, but he was the one that first told me.
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