Normally this would barely be on my radar. Not because I don’t care about crime (I do), nor because I think East St
. Louis is a trainwreck and should be bulldozed off the planet (It is). Instead, I really don’t care about anything in Illinois….because the reap what they sow.
HOWEVER, when Democratic DipShit Dick Durbin starts spouting that “ you can’t open liquor stores on every corner near housing developments and expect good things to come if you’re open all night” - Really? What does that have to do with public housing, poor showings in school, high unemployment and crime? How is this different than being able to go into Walmart, Walgreens or your local gas station and picking up a fifth?
Come on people, the crux of THIS STORY is that the politicians of Illinois have no idea how to fix their probles, and that they want to blame anyone and everyone (except themselves), challenging them to fix it.
And leave my liquor stores out of it.
This isn't just about "your" liquor stores and small business owners. There is a real problem when many poor neighborhoods have more access to booze than they do healthy food options. There is a huge difference between what's available at Wal-Mart and what's available at the corner liquor shop.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Illinois has as many struggles dealing with their "probles" as Missouri. Have you not seen "West" St Louis lately? Just putting that out there.
I have been to both East and West St. Louis, so I am not oblivious to their problems.
ReplyDeleteHowever, to blame a business owner for the lack of morality of his customers is ridiculous.
I know the small town where I live has a disproportional number of places to buy alcohol vs the population.
Crime is not rampant and people are respectful.
You're oversimplifying the issue. It's not that rural communities are on higher moral ground. There are factors such as population density and economic climate that are at play here. Besides, urban crime has generally leveled off or gone down over the last decade while rural crime has risen. To say that those in rural communities are just inherently more respectful is simply not provable. Besides, have you not noticed the rise in meth labs across rural Missouri?
ReplyDeleteAgain, I still don't think anyone is blaming small business. This is an issue of what local and state governements allow or even promote.
That said, we may have to agree to disagree and leave it at that. I do appreciate your look at things in the booze world that lie outside the same boring drivel I read elsewhere about style and flavor profiles. No hard feelings, good debate.
One last quote to prove my point, then I'll leave you alone: "Durbin says the responsibility is on city leaders’ shoulders to change the public housing situation."
ReplyDeleteCheers and have a good weekend!
I'm glad you appreciate the different spin we put on things. We are booze drinkers first, and while our actual reviews do contain flavor profiles, I like to think we do that so you can make an educated decision based on your tastes. I also am proud that when you read our reviews, you can tell we really consumed the product....vs giving a company line and marketing spin.
ReplyDeleteI also appreciate that we can agree to disagree and have open debate. I do leave comments up, even those that disagree with my own.
ReplyDeleteI am not trying to over simplify the issue at hand, nor say that rural MO is at a moral high ground.
My point is that blaming a small faction as part of the problem (in this case, liquor stores) ignores the more far reaching aspect of a social society.
I actually just got off the phone with a good friend who is very social leaning, and we discussed this very issue. In the end, the key to resolving this is to put people to work....and if we need to create jobs (ala the FDR works program), then so be it. This way, the country as a whole gains a benefit for the money expended. Blaming a business man, who is selling a legal product, injecting monies into the economy, paying taxes and providing jobs should not be the proper stance.
I do agree with you on the rise in Meth Labs...and I think this plays to the issue at hand. People want big money fast, and that leads to crime. They dont want to work for it, but instead have it handed to them. This is a behavioral issue based on society, and is the crux of the problem. If we encourage said behavior (money for no work), when the benefits run out, people continue the "bang for the buck behavior".
Finally, I agree with Durbin in the sence that (part of)the responsibility falls on the city leaders. But attacking the club and liquor industry is not the proper solution.
ReplyDeleteTo clean up areas like East StL, it will take the local govenrment, working with the State, to impose tighter regulation across the board.