Cheers to That

Trailing 52% to 48%, a Washington state ballot initiative wants to privatize liquor sales and change the beer and wine distribution rules. Large food retailers like Costco, Safeway, and Wal-Mart contributed financial support to the ballot. In fact, out of the campaign’s six million dollars in funding, Costco is attributed to nearly 4.8 million dollars of that fund. Brewers like MillerCoors and Anheuser-Bush gave funds to the opposition, “Protect Our Communities” as well. Together, the opponents of the ballot collected 9 million dollars. 

The ballot, if passed, would cause a revamp and overhaul of Washington’s trade regulation concerning alcohol. Brewers, distributors, and small businesses fear that if passed, the ballot would give large retailers an unfair advantage. These companies would gain leverage to lower prices and therefore, weaken the role of independent distributors in the supply chain. Unable to lower their own prices, small time businesses would not be able to compete with large retailers. However, supporters claim that consumers would benefit from paying lower prices.

While supporters are right that lower prices would benefit the consumer, at what cost to other retailers. Is fair to contribute funds to a campaign where other businesses have the potential to suffer severe losses? Costco and Wal-Mart at this time have already seen gains in profit over the last quarter while many small businesses have experienced losses. If anything, at most, large discount retailers should wait for full economic recovery before supporting a ballot like this.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703506904575592430139576138.html