Winebits 358: Goverment regulation edition

Someone has to keep an eye on this government regulation foolishness, because it really is getting out of hand — something to remember on election day.:

? When is whiskey not really whiskey? When you’re in Tennessee, where the state legislature apparently has better things to do than worry about education, taxes, highways, and the rest of government. Instead, it will debate the definition of Tennessee whiskey, Diageo, which owns George Dickel, and Brown-Forman, which owns Jack Daniels, are two of the biggest booze companies in the world. They’ve talked the legislature (no doubt using campaign cash) into setting limits on what Tennessee whiskey can be, and the current definition favors Brown-Forman. Not surprisingly, Diageo is aghast, and wants changes. It’s enough to make the Wine Curmudgeon boycott both brands, and I like Tennessee whiskey. I wonder: Will anyone in the legislature have the courage to stand up and tell both companies to go away and let the lawmakers worry about important stuff?

? Yes, we sell sell beer (but not really): U.S. politicians and bureaucrats aren’t the only ones who are obsessed with this stuff; even the normally mild-mannered Canadians lose control. How else to explain this, from an advisory committee in the province of Ontario which says the province should not privatize its government-owned liquor stores — just change the way it sells beer. Consumers will be allowed to buy 12-packs in addition to six-packs. Be still, my beating heart. And, believe it or not, the same committee is debating electricity deregulation in the same mandate from the provincial government. How anyone thinks booze and power are alike in any way, and that the same decisions apply, is mind boggling. Unless, of course, you don’t want to deregulate liquor sales to begin with.

? Ensuring a fair marketplace or hurting consumers? The New York State Liquor Authority has imposed more than $3 million in fines on distributors and retailers in the past three years in an attempt to eliminate sweetheart deals that allow some stores to get better treatment than others. This isn’t unusual in other businesses, where the best customers get the best deals, but it’s not supposed to happen in three-tier, which governs alcohol sales in the U.S. Three-tier says everyone has the same opportunity to buy the same products, regardless of size. Many retailers and distributors are furious about the fines and new rules, which strikes me as ironic — three-tier is protecting them from even more intense competition.