Vote YES on Question #1

[Admin]

It's a no brainer. If you've had your head in the sand for the past few months, question #1 will allow grocery stores to sell wine.

Most other states in the free world already allow more than wine. Unless you own a liquor store or own stock in a liquor store this will only benefit you.

 

[matt1956]

+1

 

[Emoto]

I intend to vote for it, but if it puts your local liquor store out of business, who is going to stock the more expensive or unusual wines? Supermarkets will only carry commercial stuff. Kind of like buying ammo at Walmart. Sure, you can get Winchester white box, but no Federal hydra-shock...

 

[Dick]

I intend to vote for it, but if it puts your local liquor store out of business, who is going to stock the more expensive or unusual wines? Supermarkets will only carry commercial stuff. Kind of like buying ammo at Walmart. Sure, you can get Winchester white box, but no Federal hydra-shock...

Just as there are, and will always be, specialty gun shops that cater to the true enthusiast and stock the less-common and high-end items, there will always be specialty wine shops that will do the same. And sure, the supermarkets will cut into the profits of the liquor stores and some of them will go under, just as the number of small gun shops has decreased because of the Wal-Marts and other big box stores. I can't say I like that, either in the case of the gun shops or the liquor stores, but the alternative is to have the government control things, and I like that less.

 

[Dirtypacman]

Any law that allows for a business owner to make their own decision on what they want to sell is ok with me. Vote YES!

 

[Admin]

I can't say I like that, either in the case of the gun shops or the liquor stores, but the alternative is to have the government control things, and I like that less.

+10000000

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

Done. I Cast my absentee ballot an hour ago.

 

[EddieCoyle]

And sure, the supermarkets will cut into the profits of the liquor stores and some of them will go under, just as the number of small gun shops has decreased because of the Wal-Marts and other big box stores.

Small stores will just have to adapt. If they can't compete with the supermarkets on price, they'll have to find another way to get customers in the door. Better selection, group buys with other stores to get wine cheaper, etc.

Because supermarkets are largely prohibited from selling wine, technically speaking, these small stores exist at the whim of the government.

 

[Pilgrim]

View Post
I can't say I like that, either in the case of the gun shops or the liquor stores, but the alternative is to have the government control things, and I like that less.

Govt will still control it. The decision on which store can carry wine will be left to the towns to issue/not issue permits.

 

[drgrant]

IMO I think the end result is that MORE wine will be sold overall, which is
a "good thing" for the economy. The grocery stores will serve the "sundry
buyer" segment that might want a bottle of wine with dinner that might
not have gone out of their way otherwise to get.

I don't buy the arguement that itll drive liquor stores out of
business. It's a pretty weak argument, considering that in most
states wine and beer is sold in many grocery stores. These states
still have PLENTY of liquor stores, or even convenience stores selling
stuff. I think even some of the liquor store owners know this, too...
becuase I havent seen overwhelming "no on 1" signs in liquor store
windows. Any "no on one" stuff tends to be fearmongering at
best. My ill-informed dad went trumpeting around the other night
about "how it will allow convenience stores to sell booze... blah blah
blah, wah wah wah, oh the woe, etc." So I think there are individuals
out there spraying out lies and FUD about the issue.

-Mike

 

[Lynne]

Govt will still control it. The decision on which store can carry wine will be left to the towns to issue/not issue permits.

The Haverhill commission has already come out and said they would not license the markets.

 

[Admin]

The Haverhill commission has already come out and said they would not license the markets.

I love this state. Even if you the voters want it, we won't let it happen... Not really a democracy huh?

 

[Emoto]

I love this state. Even if you the voters want it, we won't let it happen... Not really a democracy huh?

I don't mind the local control aspect. Local people get to decide on local things. Presumably, they are expressing the wishes of the local electorate.

 

[Admin]

I agree Emoto, if the town's population votes for it.

 

[Lynne]

I don't mind the local control aspect. Local people get to decide on local things. Presumably, they are expressing the wishes of the local electorate.

We'll see about that. It will be interesting to see exactly how Haverhill votes on #1.

Not to mention the fact that we haven't even voted on it yet and they've already gone against it.

 

[Dick]

Govt will still control it. The decision on which store can carry wine will be left to the towns to issue/not issue permits.

True enough, but the government will control it less, and that's a start.

 

[News Shooter]

I'm voting against it

only for the reason that a friend of mine owns a liquor store and he is really badly worried that it's going to kill his business
so, I'll do it out of loyalty even though it's going to pass big time

 

[matt1956]

I intend to vote for it, but if it puts your local liquor store out of business, who is going to stock the more expensive or unusual wines? Supermarkets will only carry commercial stuff. Kind of like buying ammo at Walmart. Sure, you can get Winchester white box, but no Federal hydra-shock...

I see your point... but as far as I know... this only allows the sale of wine...

I dont drink wine... I drink beer and other stuff that my local shaws will not have.... so to my local liquor store won't be getting any less business from me.

 

[Admin]

only for the reason that a friend of mine owns a liquor store and he is really badly worried that it's going to kill his business
so, I'll do it out of loyalty even though it's going to pass big time

Mark my words NS, he will be fine.

This also confirms that the liquor stores that have the NO on #1 don't care "The Children" it's all about the $$$.

Monopolies are bad unless you are one right?

 

[Coyote33]

I know of a Mobil station which sells beer and maybe wine. Sure, maybe they already have a "liquor store license", but why can't the grocery stores get this?

 

[matt1956]

I know of a Mobil station which sells beer and maybe wine. Sure, maybe they already have a "liquor store license", but why can't the grocery stores get this?

If that doesnt promot drinking and driving...

"Filler' up on pump 2 and I'll take a fifth of JD"

hahahahahhhhhaaaaaa..... I crack me up sometimes.

 

[Admin]

What about all the states that have drive through liquor stores?

The children are not dying there.

 

[News Shooter]

In Texas

and probably a lot of other states the gas station/convenience stores have big tubs of ice with singles in them by the register so you can get a "roadie"

 

[Dick]

If you start in Munich and drive down to Garmisch on the autobahn, carefully staying in the right-hand lane ("slow" lane - if your idea of slow is maybe 75 mph or more) as the Mercedes and BMWs go sailing past at 200 kph and faster, you'll shortly come to a rest area where you'll find a nice cafeteria-type restaurant selling beer, wine, and schnapps. The only way to get there, and the only way to leave, is on the autobahn (the equivalent of an interstate highway with no speed limits, for those who may not be familiar with them). It's basically the same situation on the autostradas in Italy and every other European country that I've driven in, which is most of them - beer, wine and liquor sold and consumed at highway rest areas.

Yet, there's no carnage on the roads there, at least no more than there is here, and the children aren't dying there either. It's all about personal responsibility - beer and wine don't cause drunk drivers, people cause drunk drivers (is this sounding familiar?). I don't buy into the argument that Americans are inherently less able to control themselves than Europeans, but apparently the liquor lobby thinks so.

 

[lightbulb1976]

There are a few supermarkets, Big Y and Price Chopper, near me that sell beer, wine and Liquor. So why do they sell Liquor but other stores can not. I don't get it.

 

[sellscottsell]

I don't buy into the argument that Americans are inherently less able to control themselves than Europeans, but apparently the liquor lobby thinks so.

I have worked for German and Swiss companies the better part of my career. Specifically in Germany, beer is part of the culture. In our German office, beer is available at the vending machines and is commonly consumed at lunch. My European colleagues just can’t understand American’s and our laws; specifically our driving laws vs. our drinking laws. The point was made that we enable our teens to get a drivers license at 16, yet they are not allowed to drink responsibly until 21. What will teens inevitably search for at high speeds for the next 5 years after receiving their driver’s licenses? Alcohol.

In Switzerland, you can buy cigarettes at 14, beer and wine in a pub at 16 and you don’t receive your driver’s license until your 18, at which time you can also buy hard liqueur. Their point was that European kids learn to drink responsibly in a pub without the risk of driving for 2 years. It was also pointed out that the pub atmosphere instills responsibility because the kids are apt to make fools out of themselves in front of their neighbors. I had no place to go, the theory is pretty solid.

 

[Jose]

The puritan ethos is a curse that won't go away.

Who the hell thinks 65 mph is an appropriate maximum speed on a controlled access highway?

Like it was mentioned, our approach to teen drinking is monumentally stupid. Growing up in Puerto Rico, I learned about alcohol much like European kids. As a result I drank far less heavily than most of my college classmates. I even saw a dumbass carted to the local hospital in Bloomington, Indiana with alcohol poisoning from a binge during an away football game road trip.

Americans are like little kids in many ways. No responsibility so Big Daddy Government has to set ridiculous rules for you.

 

[Admin]

Americans are like little kids in many ways. No responsibility so Big Daddy Government has to set ridiculous rules for you.

That is exactly what the democraps want...

 

[Jose]

That is exactly what the democraps want...

And we help them by not teaching kids to drink responsibly and we let them loose in cars at an age where they hardly can comprehend the consequences of their actions.

My daughter is going to learn how to drink long before she learns how to drive. The school/church/.gov can FO about it. I am her father and I have the ultimate say.

 

[Shane]

I'll be voting NO on Question #1.

Supermarkets are very lucrative. The last thing they need is a single dollar at the expense of the small liquor store down the street.

They sell food, which happens to be a necessity, thus their profit's are already large.

And at my local supermarket, there is a liquor store directly next to the supermarket! How ruthless to dip into their profits. These families who live off their small liquor store end up spending money at the supermarket on their food bills just like the rest of us. Thus, the endless cycle of supermaret profits.

So now Shaws and Stop & Shop can afford to sell wine much cheaper than the liquor stores and wine sales at liquor stores literally cease to exist.

I probably drink wine at dinner maybe 5 times per year anyhow.

I expect the vote results to be close on Question #1.

A YES vote is for convenience, which I can understand.

A NO vote is for small business. And if we get to the point in this country where you can't start a small business because every damn type of venture is already controlled by a large corporation, the American dream would be in peril.