Can't yield more

In response to your June 26 editorial "Going Private: Getting the State Out of Liquor May Be a Necessity": I would like to question Rep. Mike Turzai about what "system of taxes" he is referring to in order for the privatized liquor stores to yield $500 million per year.

As an employee of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board for the past eight years, I know for a fact that the buying power the system now has (with more than 600 stores) makes it just possible to overcome the 18 percent Johnstown Flood Relief Tax that is already added into the purchase price of alcoholic beverages in Pennsylvania.

If the system were privatized, that tax will not go away. How many more taxes in Rep. Turzai's plan can a single owner of a store absorb before they will be reflected in the product cost?

The bottom line is, there is no way privatization can yield the state more money than sole ownership of the wholesale and retail operation of the liquor system. How this system responds to the public is a work in progress. We are all working hard to make the whole system more "user friendly," and positive feedback from the general public can only help.

RON MARSILIO
Philadelphia