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If only. I think you are preaching to the choir. The strength of the wholesalers and distributors seems almost insurmountable.

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Tom, somewhere in Heaven Jerry Mead is smiling down at you today. What would be interesting is the application of the laws of competition to the three tier system. What would be the results of a system where the players could compete on an equal basis?

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Even applying a few of those laws to the alcohol industry would significantly improve the economics of the industry. And what needs to be understood is that the the key problem with the alcohol regulatory regime is the wholesaler mandate, which is entirely unnecessary if your concern is tied house issues. Separate licensing and prohibition of things of value and other practices are easily accomplished without a required middle tier use.

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