As celebratory season begins, Corbett renews call to privatize Pa. liquor stores

Opponents of privatizing Pennsylvania’s liquor system say the move would benefit large corporations and wholesalers, and terminate thousands of state store jobs.

But as the holiday season commences, Gov. Tom Corbett said he can’t get past the logic of a state in the business of selling liquor.

Heading into the time of year when the rate of traffic accidents caused by impaired driving rises, it may strike the casual observer as odd that the state is both selling alcohol and penalizing those who abuse it.

Corbett is repeating his mantra that the state should privatize its liquor system, which he says poses a conflict of interest.

“We are enforcing the liquor laws, we are enforcing the drunken driving laws, we are enforcing the drinking laws, yet we have the main agency when it comes to liquor saying, ‘drink more,’ ” Corbett said, adding it’s time to “get out of the business.”

About 60 percent of Pennsylvania voters surveyed in a recent Quinnipiac University poll said they support privatizing liquor stores.

Last month, a private group commissioned by the governor to size up the state’s liquor system advised the stores should be sold off.