The CT Beer Wholesalers Association, through their executive director/chief lobbyist Patrick Sullivan (probably one of three most powerful lobbyists in Connecticut), are saying higher beer prices are going to result from the state taking back uncollected nickel deposits on beer bottles and soft drink containers.
Beer wholesalers say they use the uncollected funds to pay for recycling all the bottles and that it will have to raise prices to offset the lost $25 million annually — and there is no reason not to believe them.
Well, call us a suspicious Joe SixPack, but based on our bar napkin calculations, the price of a bottle of beer should rise a nickel to offset the lost deposit income – and no more.
The price of a six pack should go up 30 cents. A bottle of beer at your local tavern should only cost 5 cents more.
Yet, we’re just willing to bet (maybe a beer?) that six-pack prices will jump at least 50 cents and your bartender is going to have you crying in your beer as he charges you 25 cents more for a cold, Bud Lite.
On an unrelated note, how long do you think it’s going to take for an entrepreneur to set up a bottle collecting company so wholesalers can cut their expenses?
Or, how long before a beer wholesaler sets up this independent company so it doesn’t have to use unionized drivers?
