Liquor Privatization and Progressive Politics

The liquor store privatization issue is really a good test of whether you know what you are talking about when it comes to progressive politics in our state. If you support privatization then you don’t understand that: 1. There is no progressive power in this country that isn’t based in a strong labor movement. A middle class highly educated person who tells you he is a progressive but doesn’t understand what UFCW has meant to the politics of this state needs a graduate degree from the school of real politics. 2. That there is no middle class that doesn’t require government action to increase the wages of working people and that well paid public sector workers benefits all workers. 3. That our unique system means that PA’s take from liquor and wine sales is at least double that of any other state in the country and that we can’t end it without blowing a huge hole in our state budget. (Some of those well educated people “progressive” people I’m talking about haven’t done the fiscal math. If you look at the websites of pro-privatization wonks they at least tell the truth: Privatization is a huge problem for the state budget.)