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Build your own letter to the editor

opposing privatization of the PLCB Wine and Spirits Stores

Most newspapers have a limit on the length of a letter than you can send to be published. Please compose your own customized letter to the editor by taking 1 or 2 sentences from each category below. Please use wording that you would normally use to convey a similar idea from the sentences you choose.

Introduction

“I live in (neighborhood, town or city) and I am opposed to the privatization of the State’s liquor stores.”

“There is a lot of talk by politicians in Harrisburg about the state’s budget deficit and some misguided legislators think we can solve it by selling the State Stores. I disagree.”

“Your newspaper and many of the politicians in Harrisburg who want to sell the State’s Wine and Spirits Stores are wrong.”

“A recent editorial in the (name of newspaper) called for selling Pennsylvania’s Wine and Spirits Stores as a way to solve the State’s budget deficit. I think that is a bad idea.”

Reasons to oppose privatization

“I do not believe the politicians who say that we can get $2 billion for the stores and balance the budget. The budget deficit is much bigger than that and we will only get a one-time shot if we sell the stores.”

“I don’t think it is a wise decision to sell an asset that all of us own just for a single infusion of funding this year. What happens next year?”

“I have heard that the $2 billion these politicians claim they can get from selling the stores is a bogus number and it won’t even be enough, if it were true, to settle the state budget deficit.”

“My main concern is for the safety of our children and our local communities. Selling the Wine and Spirits Stores off to private owners will only mean an explosion of liquor stores in our communities and drunk driving.”

“The real problem is control. Alcoholic beverages are a dangerous drug and, even though they are legal, we don’t need to make them more available to people who can abuse these products and cause harm to others.”

“Politicians in Harrisburg are out of touch with the concerns in our local communities and they are looking for a quick hit solution without thinking about the long term consequences that could damage our community and put more of our citizens at risk.”

“The Wine and Spirits Stores have been improving in terms of customer service for many years and they still help us to control the sale of a dangerous drug – alcohol. I see no reason to change the current system. It is not broken and doesn’t need to be fixed.”

“Why are the newspapers and some politicians in Harrisburg always looking for a quick solution without knowing the consequences that could be harmful to our neighborhoods? I think they need to see what they can do to make the state store system work better, not give it away to private companies who will only be driven by the need to sell more and more alcoholic beverages to make a profit.”

“I think that the politicians in Harrisburg are lying to us when they say they can get $2 billion by selling the liquor stores. Besides, what happens next year if we have another budget deficit? Who is going to pay for the costs of more law enforcement to go after more drunk drivers? We will, when the politicians have to raise our taxes to solve that problem.”

“I have no problem with the way the Wine and Spirits Stores run now. They have good selection, fair prices and good service from employees who are not being pushed to sell more and more alcohol to people who shouldn’t be drinking. The Wine and Spirits Stores also make a significant contribution to the state’s budget every year and yet we still have the best control of the sale of alcohol of any state in the nation. Why change something that works for all of us in order to take care of a few people who want to get rich selling booze in a private market?”

“The newspapers may want the ad revenue from a private system of liquor sales. The politicians may want the big money contributions from the liquor industry. But what people like me want is a liquor and wine sales system that makes products available but limits who can buy them only to those who are not visibly intoxicated or too young. We have that now. We won’t have that under a private system.”

Closing

“That’s why I’m opposed to privatizing the State Stores and why I disagree with your newspaper’s stance on this important issue.”

“For these reasons I am opposed to privatizing the Wine and Spirits Stores.”

“I am opposed to what some of these politicians in Harrisburg are trying to do with the Wine and Spirits Stores and I disagree with your newspaper’s position on this important issue. There is too much at risk to rush into a bad decision on this issue.”