Paternalism watch: Seattle has banned, in certain areas of the city, the sale of “29 brands of cheap booze favored by the homeless,” including Thunderbird, Richard’s Wild Irish Rose and Night Train Express. “But on the streets of downtown and Capitol Hill, people who acknowledged they were homeless and drunk seemed to find ways to make do.” (Kery Murakami, “Alcoholics finding way around ban”, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Nov. 2)(via Balko, Reason “Hit and Run”).
Lowbrow liquor labels
Paternalism watch: Seattle has banned, in certain areas of the city, the sale of “29 brands of cheap booze favored by the homeless,” including Thunderbird, Richard’s Wild Irish Rose and Night Train Express. “But on the streets of downtown and Capitol Hill, people who acknowledged they were homeless and drunk seemed to find ways to […]
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I have the awesome privilege of living on the very edge (and just inside) of one of these “Alcohol Impact Areas,” meaning that the population of homeless alcoholics is going to increase at the gas station a block to the north of me, but no longer shop for those drinks at the minimart on my side of the street. But have no fear, the City will expand the areas again. This recent passage was, as I understand it, converting some voluntary bans into prohibition in several areas.
I’m not impressed with the argument that they’ll just get hard-liquor– the alcoholics I’ve seen can’t manage their time and lucid periods well enough to buy from the fairly limited (IMO) hours of the state-operated liquor stores.
The article fails to mention that the previously smaller ban area already created a market for a few enterprising folks to buy 6-12 packs outside the ban area and resell them inside. Seattle’s bus system would be excellent for this sort of thing.
Anyway I’ll take a survey of the aluminum cans that pile up in the overgrown area next lot over and see how the ban is doing.
So, when the ban area encompasses a Trader Joe’s will the price of Charles Shaw wine go up?