Anna McCauslin On Why Pennsylvania Should Privatize Alcohol Sales

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Anna McCauslin, Director of Policy for the Pennsylvania chapter of Americans for Prosperity, renewed calls to privatize the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board and the commonwealth's alcohol sales.

McCauslin, speaking with Talk Radio 1210 WPHT's Chris Stigall, objected to Governor Tom Wolf's veto of a privatization bill and criticized the current setup as inconvenient to the majority of state residents.

"It's time to allow businesses to sell this product [and] make it easy for responsible adults. To go have a dinner party, I've got to lug my children, buckle them out of the car seats, put them back in, to three separate stores. It's kind of insane. It makes my life more difficult and it means higher price and less selection for responsible adults in Pennsylvania."

She rejected claims that privatizing sales will lead to increased prices.

"If there are higher prices, why aren't those people in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, even New Jersey flocking to Pennsylvania to buy our cheap liquor? It's not how reality works. It's illegal, but we're doing it, Pennsylvania residents crossing the border to buy cheaper alcohol with a greater selection and bring it back into the state."

McCauslin also asserted Pennsylvania would continue to bring in the majority of revenue generated by alcohol sales even after selling off the state-owned stores.

"The PLCB transfers about $80 million into the general fund every year and over 80 percent of the PLCB revenue is on taxes, which is not going to go away under privatization."