Here in Washington, the state has a monopoly on the sale of liquor. And, like anything the government gets its hands on, they’ve screwed that up.
Don’t panic, but a glitch in the state’s liquor distribution system is leaving store shelves bare just in time for the Fourth of July holiday, this morning’s Seattle Times reports. State officials blame a problem with a new software system for the backlog of orders. (The bureaucratic equivalent of “the dog ate my homework.”)
You’d think that an half-empty warehouse a month ago would have been a big indicator that something was wrong. But no, the state waits until routeing order cannot be filled.
So, just like Nevada not being able to make a profit running a brothel, Washington can’t manage to keep product on the shelves of a liqor store.
I think that it is safe to say that Idaho, Oregon and Vancouver BC will be getting some extra business this weekend.
Don’t expect it to be cheaper here in OryGun. Our leges just added a surtax to the liquor tax. Everything is up between a buck and a buck-fifty a fifth, which is why I have a pipeline to a Southwestern State, and buy almost nothing up here any more.