On July 1st, 2012, the sales of spirits in Washington State owned liquor stores came to an end, and was replaced by retail sales in stores with 10,000 or more square feet, mostly supermarkets and "big box" stores such as Costco, Total Wine and BevMo. Recently, the Seattle Times ran a few articles about the effects of the changes in the wine and spirits market. Prices for spirits generally are higher than they were, but other negative effects such as reduced shelf space for wines and alcohol abuse and DUI have turned out to be not as much as originally feared.

So, here's my take on privatization after two years:

Privatization and Initiative 1183 was simply about getting the state out of the liquor business. After nearly 80 years of a state monopoly on spirits sales, it had become evident that the system was antiquated and needed to be changed. The Washington State Liquor Control Board and the Legislature abdicated their responsibilities in ignoring the need for change. That is why 59 percent of the voters passed the initiative. And that is why I favored passage of I-1183.

I, for one, never believed liquor prices would be lowered. Not with all the layers of "fees" (actually taxes) and excise and sales taxes. One of the purposes of Initiative 1183 was to ensure that revenue to the state would be sustained. But the effects have been mitigated somewhat by direct buying and volume discounts. The main beneficiaries are the supermarket chains and big box stores that have the purchasing power to take advantage of the maximum volume discounts.

The impact on wine sales has not been significant. It was feared by some that shelf space in stores for wine would be diminished to make room for spirits. This has not turned to be case to much an an extent. Small distillers, on the other hand, are still struggling, but they should not have depended on the state to make a market for their products.

Initiative 1183 was far from perfect. It was called the "Costco Initiative" for good reason. The big stores have been the main beneficiaries of privatization. But I would propose a few remedies to improve the situation:

Allow specialty wine shops to sell spirits. The purpose of the 10,000 square feet requirement for licensing was to keep liquor out of convenience stores, but it should not prevent stores specializing in wine sales from selling spirits.

Eliminate the 20.5 percent sales tax on spirits and replace it with the application of the general sales tax to the sale of spirits as well as wine and beer. This would help reduce the disparity of spirits prices in Washington State versus other states.

Give the craft distillers a tax break. This could be done by waiving or reducing the distributor fee or some other method. This would help the small distillers become more competitive.

Overall, despite the undesired effects, privatization has been beneficial. Purchasing liquor has become easier and more convenient. There has not been any noticeable increase in alcohol abuse or DUI driving. And free enterprise is far better and more efficient than state run monopolies. It was high time for change, even if the outcome was not the best possible.