If you’re new to Minot’s liquor license discussion, what’s happening in this post is an introduction to a few economic principles that illustrate why Minot’s laws governing liquor licenses are broken. Earlier this month, City Council attempted to redefine what it means to be a ‘supper club’ (a type liquor license). In the process, they
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In today’s economics lesson, I’ll talk a bit about regulatory arbitrage, and why Minot’s new liquor license law is such a terrible one. And it’s the perfect place to start because it’s the exact practice we as a City were trying to eliminate by writing a new law. In a nutshell, regulatory arbitrage is the
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Last week’s liquor license decision was so bad that I’ve been at a loss for words to describe it (or perhaps had too many of the four-lettered ones). Whenever City Council votes on a topic, particularly one that’s a bit controversial, the outcome of that vote sends a message about where we’re heading as a
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On the heels of a really bad decision — like the one that came out of City Council last week — we’re going to assume that our elected officials simply don’t understand the consequences of their actions. In a small community like Minot, where we all know and trust each other, the idea of ‘bounded
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It’s been more than a week since City Council decided to lay the burden of added regulation on the shoulders of Minot’s downtown restaurant owners, so I reached out to get their reaction to the new law and process that went into the final version. In their own words, here’s what they think of the
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Corrected & Updated: our original reporting on this issue showed the vote as 11-3, the actual vote was 10-4. Also voting no was Alderman Schuler. Update June 2, 8:32am: When originally published, the notation of ‘Sarcastic Commentary’ was not in place and included names of specific businesses that represent Minot’s growing and important restaurant culture. After realizing
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An eleventh-hour framework that was approved by a Renaissance Zone supper club and a majority of liquor license holders and submitted to members of City Council brought about the desired effect — another month of debate and consideration needed to ensure the law will be written appropriately. Other business before the City Council: Acting City
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If you caught our editorial last month — Let’s Raise a Glass to Less Liquor Regulation, you probably gathered we’re not fans of the recommendations coming out of Minot’s Liquor and Gambling Committee. (if you’re not sure what this issue is all about, catch up quick with this link) Thus far, it seems like the full
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