Jupitermedia CEO Alan Meckler
The Internet Takes On Another Industry
It is a good time to be a wine merchant on the Internet. Several states had laws blocking wines to be shipped by out of state Internet wine merchants. No more. The United States Supreme Court on Monday ruled that such restrictive and protectionist laws are unsconstitutional. Now we have a wide open marketplace for any and all wine merchants. The local wine store in New York, for example, now has to worry about competition both locally and long distance. The Internet once again will help the consumer as pricing competition is sure to hit wine dealers across the United States.
Perhaps the next legal hurdle to be overcome is the control of entrenched residential real estate companies that prevent, via protectionist laws, Internet real estate agents from offering lower commission deals to consumers?
I wish it were that straightforward, since I hate this protectionist crap. But the Court was faced with contradictory provisions in the Constitution: The free-trade-among-states provision, and the amendment repealing Prohibition that gave states sweeping powers to control liquor sales. Utah can remain dry, and outlaw shipping wine in; they can still do that. The Court said only that the states couldn't use the 21st Amendment to play favorites, selectively excluding wine shipper from out of state if they permit wine shipment in-state.
New Jersey, to duck just this finding, last year outlawed shipping of wine directly to consumers from *within* New Jersey, and thus NJ remains a state where you can't order California (or New York) wines by mail or Internet - and isn't affected by the Court decision.
The state liquor distributors, who in terms of ability to corrupt state politicians completely rival the old railroad monopolies, will promptly pay to ensure that shipping laws are adjusted so they can retain their hold on liquor sales. Only New York State has hopes of resisting, since it has more than 200 vintners, who will scream at such restrictions--and in so screaming, give the press something to write about and maybe arouse them to write about the corrupt behavior of the state liquor distributors.
One can hope.
Unfortunately, there are no countervailing forces to pressure legislators to end protectionism in other areas such as real estate. There is no Ralph Nader for the real consumers' interests. And the mainstream press is and will remain oblivious to such issues.