A house has apparently burned to the ground in Ellsworth today, just past Doc Hayden's on the left, heading East on 4. I sure hope no one was hurt. My cousin from Lakeville, who's in Florida on vacation ( he's mooching off his mother-in-law), told me about it on facebook. He apparently reads the local news or perhaps sees it while away from off of the internet. My, times have changed. When I used to be able to afford to go to Florida (before my kids educations, alas we don't go now) the only thing I listened to or saw was good FM stations on my transistor radio (no ipods then) and would watch a little TV late in the evening, because the daytime was all filled up with sun and tourist stuff! You know, with all the Coppertone (with no SPF) we used to apply and before that baby oil, it's a miracle I have any skin left at all. I'd lay out there on Ft. Lauderdale beach from 9am till 6pm, for a week straight, with only a break for lunch or facilities. Could never do that now. Well, let me re-phrase. You could, but it might not be too good of a thing health-wise.......The Guts--> The front page of the Republican today's has an article on a proposal to have liquor stores open on Sunday's too, to help Hartford obtain more tax dollars. No concern over the owners health, or their families survival as a unit, or maybe a church life for some, if not many. Just have them open to get more revenues. My pledge to you I make today. I WILL NOT be open on Sundays, regardless of what my competitors may do. If you want to do business with me, which I will always welcome, please come Monday-Saturday. I will always do my best that I can for you, but Sunday's, I nor my help, will be there.
Rick,
ReplyDeleteYou are extreamly profound & prolific. Also good at hitting nails on the head.
Thanks,
Moochie
I heard about this on CT's NPR affiliate this morning and thought of RW&S...will this extend to grocery stores, too? Maybe they should just start with opening up the beer coolers 7 days a week in business that would already be open anyway.
ReplyDeleteMs.H... while it would not probably bother me if the grocery sold beer on Sundays, many small guys would be upset. They are not quite, in general, maybe, as agreeable as I am. I think it all came from having that big heart operation at an early age. You tend to realize just what is a priority in ones life and what may come second....or third!
ReplyDeleteSo the objection is really one of protecting the "small guy?" Is there an objection to selling alcohol on Sundays or just who sells it? Just trying to understand....
ReplyDeleteAs I see it...Ct. is basically a state full of small, independent liquor stores with just a few "big" stores". If you want liquor or wine, you can buy it at any of them Mon-Sat 8AM-9PM BY LAW.(if they are open all of the possible hours) Beer is also sold there. Beer,and only beer is also sold @ c-stores(gas stations and grocery stores under the same time frame. There are no sales anywhere on Sunday for resale purchases(Bars are open after noon for on-premise). The liquor industry lobbies hard each and every year to have Sunday sales, thinking more product will be sold (thus greed on their part). The few big stores, whom are located more than not in high-rent spaces near malls and such want to be open on Sundays. Again there are but a few of them state-wide. the small guys, of which there are hundreds, the majority by far DO NOT want to work 7 days a week. Connecticut has been this way just fine for 150 or more years probably. They only see it as a help to the big guy, who is and can wipe the small guys out because of volume sales brought on by operating at lower margins, again due to volume sales. Small guys cannot generate enough sales volume to compete at the lowest prices. Thus , potentially, a business that to date hires and employees many probably thousands of people, both full and part-time around the state, could drastically be changed. THEN, add in that the lobbiests (sp?) in Hartford say "but Gov. Rell, add Sundays, and the state could make SO MUCH MORE TAX REVENUE"...... Which brings it all down to being about the damn dollar than about anything else. To heck with peoples lives. To heck with nice small independent businesses who would be pressured to choose between opening to compete or staying closed and risk lost revenues, ONLY because the state wants to POTENTIALLY make more TAX DOLLARS.....I hope thats clear.....and correct.(Note--I have a split on my thumb so typing is not up to par...forgive please!)
ReplyDeleteI understand... and also understand your excellent points in today's blog entry. Can you see a fit there? Wouldn't the "little guy" who chooses to stay closed .. or open be a beneficiary of the tax collected? I guess I was looking for someone to have a moral objection to the 150 year old (?) law but that does not seem to be the issue. If the law as written is no longer serving the community, should it at least not come for referendum and either passed with new provisions or the restriction go away? It seems that a ban on alcohol sales based on a moral issue is perhaps now being used as a social(ism) issue to protect something it was never intended to protect? Just thoughts.... Thank you for your comments.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry I did not word the preceeding accurately. Should read: I guess I waas looking for a moral objection to changing the existing rules for sale of alcohol on Sundays in Connecticut.
ReplyDeletewhy fix it if it ain't broke?
ReplyDeleteBut it may well be broke if it's a law that does not serve as intended. It may "work" in its present configuration but for alternative purposes for which it was designed. That makes it a bad law that should be changed.
ReplyDeleteSo the question remains, is the purpose of the original legislation the intent with which it is applied? If there is moral objection to the sale of alcohol (other than as amended) on Sunday in the State of Connecticut, I would say the law is just. If the law also prescribes no sale in order to allow for the conservation of those benefiting by the "no sale" -- I would say the law is also just...but does it?
Status quo has long worked best for those who are benefiting from it. Constitutional law is an interesting field as the First Amendment to the Bill of Rights allows for citizens to "petition the government for a redress of grievances." Fortunately, it does not consider the size of one's business as a discriminator. Be it large or small in size, no business owner has the right or implied right to refuse another to bring grievance if a law is being used for other than its intended purpose. That right fits all and is a wonderful thing.
Just academics. Thanks for the opportunity to think this through. On a lighter note, enjoy this video clip that is loosely topic related:
http://tinyurl.com/cz99oc