tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1392866426745021699.post3173742895146740388..comments2024-03-29T15:15:29.280+01:00Comments on The Wine Gourd: Why are there wine monopolies in Scandinavia?David Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11578729952036086391noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1392866426745021699.post-72781300751363250842019-12-02T14:11:27.139+01:002019-12-02T14:11:27.139+01:00As I mentioned, monopoly existed well before 1955,...As I mentioned, monopoly existed well before 1955, which is the date when all the local/regional monopolies were put under one umbrella, Systembolaget. More of a cosmetic change than one of principle.<br /><br />In fact, the history of the monopoly goes back to the 1850s when owners of the mine in Falun petitioned the king to obtain a monopoly on alcohol locally, since they lost so many workers due to alcohol and the bosses were getting the costly charge of taking care of widows and fatherless children. This, in time, grew into a monopolies all over the country. And it was a very close call that Sweden actually did get prohibition. (And by the way, opening hours was never until 3PM, nor 5PM, on weekdays.)<br /><br />My experience is quite different, that the market for wine in Sweden (and Finland) is extremely limited in the range of wines it offers to the wine-loving public. This is not a question of principle, it is a fact. Compare it to any of the other non-monopoly markets in Europe and you will find that the range of wines available in Sweden is very limited and very focussed on "big brand" producers. I am not familiar with the market in Australia.<br /><br />And in addition to the monopoly leading to a poor choice for wine lovers it has proven to be very bad at "safeguarding public health" which is its sole raison d'etre. This failure is even of course more important than the other aspects. Sweden (and Finland and Norway) deserves a better "alcohol politics" that serves public health better. Per Karlssonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13686557266456211147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1392866426745021699.post-16969697137611795642019-12-02T13:24:52.687+01:002019-12-02T13:24:52.687+01:00My research indicates that the current arrangement...My research indicates that the current arrangements for Systembolaget were put in place long after the 1930s, when things were very different — it is before my time, though. Moreover, things have changed significantly in the past 10 years. My experience, comparing Australia with Sweden, is very positive, and I am not overstating this. There are those who hate monopolies on principle, and I am not one of them.<br /><br />As for railways, they are monopolies in places like Australia, where wine is not a monopoly.David Morrisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00276520192744208262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1392866426745021699.post-80655698494599723942019-12-02T12:23:56.852+01:002019-12-02T12:23:56.852+01:00As usual, you overstate the benefits of the monopo...As usual, you overstate the benefits of the monopoly (or monopolies). And you are mistaken about road and rail. Not monopolies.<br /><br />The only monopoly that remains in Sweden is on alcohol retail. The last but one, on gambling, was abolished not long ago.<br /><br />One could also point out that the monopoly exists more or less in its current form since around the 1930s (the structure changed in the 50s) and during all this time alcohol consumption has steadily risen.<br /><br />It rose and rose under the monopoly, whose sole motivation for existence is to limit alcohol consumption, until quite recently when it stopped going up and even slightly decreased. Interestingly, that change towards less consumption coincides with a period when Swedish alcohol regulations was made significantly more liberal. <br /><br />And as to the "benefits" of being a big buyer... Well, to some extent that is partially true. But the other side of that is that most wines that come to Sweden are made by huge producers, industrial-type of wines. Very few smaller producers manage to get into the Swedish market. So, perhaps yes, some purchasing power, but the result is that Sweden see very few smaller (and more interesting) producers. If I look at what wines are available in Sweden it is very, very predictable, it is generally big groups with marketing clout. On average a quite uninspiring range of wines.Per Karlssonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13686557266456211147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1392866426745021699.post-46139756128435061872019-12-02T11:49:45.488+01:002019-12-02T11:49:45.488+01:00Quoting from this Wall Street Journal article titl...Quoting from this Wall Street Journal article titled "California Trims Its High-Speed Rail Ambitions"<br /><br />"California [high-speed dedicated track rail] . . . price tag for its long-running project rose to an estimated $77 billion. Gov. Gavin Newsom said in mid-February the ambitious plan would cost too much and take too long, adding: 'There simply isn’t a path to get from Sacramento to San Diego, let alone from San Francisco to LA.'"<br /><br />Here in California, we have a "no frills," bargain-priced, single "class" seating airline known as Southwest.<br /><br />A one-way flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco -- replicating the intended high-speed rail system -- costs as little as U.S. $54.<br /><br />Double that and your round-trip fare is just north of U.S. $100.<br /><br />At the risk of turning this comment into a STEM lecture, let's do some "back of the envelope" math.<br /><br />The projected U.S. $77 billion (and climbing) construction cost for high-speed rail could alternately fund -- at $100 each -- some 770 million round-trip airfares on Southwest Airlines.<br /><br />The U.S. Census Bureau projects the population of California is 39,557,045 .<br /><br />The projected percentage of the state population 18 years or older is 77.3%, which calculates to 30,577,596 "adults."<br /><br />770 million round-trip airfares divided by 30.577 million California adult residents equals 25 round-trip U.S. $100 airfares to every California adult resident.<br /><br />For half of that projected U.S. $77 billion construction cost, the state of California could buy outright Southwest Airlines (current market capitalization is U.S. $30.33 billion).<br /><br />Then issue taxpayer-funded round-trip flight vouchers to all California adult residents.<br /><br />How many flights does Southwest fly each day? This many:<br /><br />From Los Angeles airport (LAX) to San Francisco airport (SFO), there are 20 daily one-way flights.<br /><br />From San Francisco airport to Los Angeles airport, there are 17 daily one-way flights.<br /><br />From Los Angeles airport to Oakland airport (OAK) across the bay from San Francisco, there are 23 daily one-way flights.<br /><br />From Oakland airport (OAK) to Los Angeles airport, there are 23 daily one-way flights.<br /><br />From Los Angeles airport to San Jose airport (SJC) [located one hour's driving time south of San Francisco], there are 21 daily one-way flights.<br /><br />From San Jose airport to Los Angeles airport, there are 20 daily one-way flights.<br /><br />From Burbank airport (BUR) [located one hour's driving time north of LAX] to Oakland airport, there are 19 daily one-way flights.<br />From Oakland airport to Burbank airport, there are 21 daily one-way flights.<br /><br />Clearly, California has a vibrant air transportation system between Los Angeles and its suburb Burbank, and the three-city destinations comprising the San Francisco Bay Area.<br /><br />The average one-way flight time is between 60 minutes and 90 minutes. Air travelers get to their destination cheaper and sooner than high-speed rail.<br /><br />Citing one of Albert Einstein's less famous discoveries:<br /><br />URL: https://live.staticflickr.com/5547/12781063064_95c9c66c96_c.jpg<br /><br />U.S. $77 billion (and climbing) funds A LOT of round-trip airfares for California adult residents.<br /><br />And that is why observers question the logic and economic viability of high-speed rail between Los Angeles and San Francisco.<br /><br />[As the late U.S. Senator Everett Dirksen observed: "A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon, you're talking real money."]Bob Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10273753215266627700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1392866426745021699.post-53941984822098217062019-12-02T01:46:51.873+01:002019-12-02T01:46:51.873+01:00Adding to David's bibliography . . .
"Am...Adding to David's bibliography . . .<br /><br />"Amtrak, Seeking to Break Even, Sees Some Light at the End of the Tunnel<br />The Wall Street Journal online - posted November 8, 2019<br /><br />URL: https://www.wsj.com/articles/amtrak-seeking-to-break-even-sees-some-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel-11573223401<br /><br />-- and --<br /><br />"High-Speed Rail in the US Remains Elusive: Illinois Shows Why"<br />The Wall Street Journal online - posted March 4, 2019<br /><br />URL: https://www.wsj.com/articles/high-speed-rail-in-the-u-s-remains-elusive-illinois-shows-why-11551713342<br /><br />-- and --<br /><br />"Federal Government to Cancel Funds for California High-Speed Rail"<br />The Wall Street Journal online -- posted February 19, 2019<br /><br />URL: https://www.wsj.com/articles/federal-government-to-cancel-funds-for-california-high-speed-rail-11550618638<br /><br />-- and in response --<br /><br />"California Trims Its High-Speed Rail Ambitions"<br />The Wall Street Journal online - posted February 12, 2019<br /><br />URL: https://www.wsj.com/articles/california-trims-its-high-speed-rail-ambitions-11550008407<br /><br />In the U.S., the historical use (abuse?) of "eminent domain" by government agencies to take private lands away from owners, and convert them to public lands for transportation systems (in the past, multi-lane high speed freeways; today, elevated high-speed rail) is now discredited.<br /><br />"Not In My Back Yard" (NIMBY) dominates land use planning.Bob Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02089688073031173053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1392866426745021699.post-35057998207962377772019-12-02T01:36:35.121+01:002019-12-02T01:36:35.121+01:00Should this sentence . . .
"Note that these ...Should this sentence . . .<br /><br />"Note that these problem countries tend to be in the colder northern regions — spirits can keep you warm during the long dark winters."<br /><br />. . . be followed by a parenthetical ("Wink! Wink!") and a photo of a rescue St. Bernard with a mini-barrel of brandy strapped around its neck?<br /><br />URL: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/20908/why-are-st-bernards-always-depicted-barrels-around-their-necksBob Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02089688073031173053noreply@blogger.com