Ontario considers privatizing lottery, liquor

And the rich get richer. Who else will have the money to buy these corporations?

Not sure how the Ontario Lottery and Gaming would work but the LCBO would just become an open market of vendors like the other provinces. They would just collect all the taxes but it won’t make booze any cheaper.

something that would never happen to Quebec....

Lower prices isn't the sole justification for privatization. In the case of Alberta, prices stayed pretty much the same, when adjusted for inflation. Government revenues also stayed about the same. Variety, selection and convenience greatly improved for the consumer. Because the government still controls the wholesale trade of liquor, it's not a TRUE privatization of the industry, but a great first step.

But, for me, this is a moral issue. The purpose of government is to govern, not to sell alcohol. The liquor trade is a businees that government shouldn't have had its hand in in the first place. The idea of a conglomerate, involving liquor sales, power generation, lottery sales and who-the-hell-knows-what-else is a bad idea. Investors who want to invest in the liquor industry shouldn't also have to buy into the hydro business. This same problem occurred when CN was privatized. Investors who wanted to invest in the hotel business were forced to also buy into the railway business. When that conglomerate was later broken up, the share values of the newly separated companies rose sharply.

I don't support privatization. Ontario will lose out on the billion or so revenue it gets in profit. The people who want to buy the LCBO and/or privatize it are doing it for a reason, they want to make that money. They figure they can make more money this way and ultimately that means less money into the government coffers or higher booze prices. I don't believe they'll be able to offer the product any cheaper. Hell even if they did the government will just raise the excise tax on booze "for our safety" and nullify it.

If you have a moral issue well that is another story. The same argument has been made over the lottery or the amount of money our government makes from gambling in Ontario. Personally I have no problem in it at all.

I also don't believe privatization will bring about a big change in variety and selection over all. It will limit selection in a lot of places but offer greater selection in a few. As it stands any Beer Store outlet offers far more variety then I had at any but the larger stores in England and Australia. The LCBO outlets offer a phenomenal selection. I don't drink wine but from what I have scene both the LCBO and wine shops offer a large variety as well.

BC keeps bringing up this idea too. I don't get it - it's a profitable business, why sell it? I don't really care either way, but just don't understand the logic.

There are a tons of profitable businesses. Do you imply that the state should nationalize all the profitable businesses just because they can do some bucks with it ?

There are a tons of profitable businesses. Do you imply that the state should nationalize all the profitable businesses just because they can do some bucks with it ?

Nope. He is saying the same thing I am and the same things many others are, namely that Ontario rakes in over a billion dollars per year in profit. Why should the government throw that away and be forced to make up that revenue in taxes when what we have now is working quite well?

Why stop with liquor privatization? Ontario can privatize the police, fire, ambulance, and whatever other government services. Same thing.

There are a tons of profitable businesses. Do you imply that the state should nationalize all the profitable businesses just because they can do some bucks with it ?

If the state can run them profitably, I wouldn't have a problem with it. Usually it can't. I don't care about ideology, only what works. I think the state should hold onto things that are natural monopolies - like power generation for example.

There are a tons of profitable businesses. Do you imply that the state should nationalize all the profitable businesses just because they can do some bucks with it ?

Nope. He is saying the same thing I am and the same things many others are, namely that Ontario rakes in over a billion dollars per year in profit. Why should the government throw that away and be forced to make up that revenue in taxes when what we have now is working quite well?

Why stop with liquor privatization? Ontario can privatize the police, fire, ambulance, and whatever other government services. Same thing.
Not the same thing at all. Read what Lemmy said. It's not the state role to sell liquor. It's the state role to protect his citizens tho.

There are a tons of profitable businesses. Do you imply that the state should nationalize all the profitable businesses just because they can do some bucks with it ?

If the state can run them profitably, I wouldn't have a problem with it. Usually it can't. I don't care about ideology, only what works. I think the state should hold onto things that are natural monopolies - like power generation for example.
You are saying some scary things there

Don't you remember what socialism did in countries where it was implanted ? It begins with "millions" and finishes with "deaths".

First off, with all due respect to Lemmy he is not the authority on what is and is not the governments role. His is a voice among many and that is his opinion.

It is the governments role to control substances like alcohol though and this is just another level of control. I have no problem with how it is being controlled and I am a very vocal person on the government not being allowed to dictate personal choice like alcohol is. I'd have no problem with them selling pot in a manner no different then alcohol either.

The product (alcohol) is provided at a very affordable price and restrictions on it are limited and reasonable. The government is doing a great job.

The police and fire thing is the reciprocal of your argument. Why should the government control policing and fire response? Plenty of ways they can contract that work out to private firms (who would quickly fill the need btw). They can set regs and controls but leave the cost and budgeting to a private for profit firm. Afterall, if private business is always more efficient and cheaper then why not? A better police/fire service for less cost. Same idea.

I don't really know the LCBO but with the SAQ (Quebec's LCBO), the government is not doing a good job at all. It's a monopoly and the same bottle can be 20% less expensive in Ontario and even 50% less in the USA. That's pure stealing.

I cited Lemmy because he's a economist and knows more than both of us on that subject.

Well that's true. I've always said "first the govt run liquor stores, then the gulag."