State control of the liquor distribution is a holdover from Prohibition. It’s time for the state to get out of the business, and Gov. John Baldacci’s plan to sell the monopoly rights is solid.

Ideally, the government would not be involved in a private enterprise, such as selling alcohol. That is best left to the market.

At the same time, the monopoly distribution rights are a valuable state commodity that shouldn’t be given away. The governor’s plan to license the operation for $125 million over a 10-year contract makes good sense.

The state receives much-needed revenue and saves about $2 million a year by relinquishing day-to-day liquor sales. And the winner of the bidding process gets a built-in profit for a decade, at which time new bids could be accepted or the system completely privatized.

Our fear is that the contract is overpriced, and the state will increase costs to consumers as a way to make the deal more attractive. For the time being, the state says it will continue to set the price of liquor, protecting consumers from spikes. We hope that’s the case. Consumers shouldn’t be punished with another stealth tax increase.

In our opposition to the casino question, we wrote that the state controls a valuable commodity – a monopoly on casino gambling – that should be granted to a developer only after bids and negotiations. While the governor has remained cold to the idea of selling gambling rights, he has embraced the principle with this plan to partially privatize the wholesaling of liquor.

Once this program has proven itself successful, we hope the governor will apply the lesson to other areas.


Moving forward


Just when we thought the federal government had lost most of its marbles in the way it wants to spend taxpayer money, along comes a small program that offers great promise for the community and the nation’s energy problems.

The River Valley Growth Council’s biorefinery project will receive $300,000 in federal funds and could be in line for $4.4 million more. The proposed plant would process wood into chemicals that could be used in plastics and medicines. The plant could also produce hydrogen more cleanly and cheaply than other methods.

An alert reader in Lewiston, Russ Burbank, sent us a heads-up about an item he read in Trailer Life Magazine. An all-organic fuel, called Biotrol, is being made from wood residue. According to the report, it is cleaner and more environmentally friendly than diesel fuel.

All this points to the vast potential that still exists in Maine’s woods.

The proposed plan for the biorefinery in Peru could create 175 jobs. That’s good for the community. But the scientific progress that could be ushered in by the experimental operation could do much to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil and petrochemicals.

That’s good for our economy and our national security.

While Congress debates a horrible energy bill that increases pollution and our need for dirty fossil fuels, ingenious entrepreneurs who offer progress can only hope for the support they deserve.
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