Just as we had predicted back in November, Gov. Tom Corbett and his band of budget obsessed merry men and woman are finding that selling off the state’s liquor stores — a keystone in the Governor’s campaign platform — is easier said than done. Last week House Democrats made it well known that they favored keeping the thousands of Pennsylvanians who work at Wine & Spirits Shops employed over turning a quick buck on liquor license sales. And now in the face of mounting fundraising and lobbying efforts from unionized liquor store workers, Corbett and company appear to be backing down, the Inquirer reports.
While the governor remains tight-lipped on the subject, his budget secretary, Charles Zogby, is saying the push to privatize booze sales is not longer being viewed as a golden egg, and that revenue from liquor sales, which brings in more than $100 million annually, is something the state “can’t afford to lose or jeopardize.”
Foes of privatizing State Stores build their campaign [Inquirer]
Earlier: House Democrats Say Jobs Are More Important Than Selling Off Liquor Stores
