Michigan's Beer and Wine Wholesaler Welfare Queens Get Paid Off

Hundreds of thousands of dollars given away to Michigan wholesalers

As everyone in the alcohol industry is fully aware, the three-tier system’s requirement that producers sell to wholesalers and retailers buy only from wholesalers amounts to a government welfare plan for middlemen. But did you know that some states, in their nearly 100-year handout to wholesalers, also fund them with hundreds of thousands of dollars?

For many years now, the Michigan budget has included a line item for a “Direct shipper enforcement revolving fund.” In the budget that is currently working its way through the Michigan legislature, $317,000 has been allocated to the fund. According to the budget, the $317,000 is to be used “to investigate and audit unlawful direct shipments of wine by unlicensed wineries and retailers, with priority directed toward unlicensed out-of-state retailers and third-party marketers.”

These investigations are meant to ensure that Michigan consumers buy as much alcohol as possible from wholesalers that Michigan consumers do not have access to products that wholesalers choose not to sell.