Community Corner
Booze By Mail: Should Congress Allow It?
Legal alcohol delivery could make the U.S. Postal Service $50 million per year, reports the Huffington Post. Would Martha's Vineyard residents abandon local package stores for mail-order beer, wine and spirits?
Written by Jacob Bourne with additional reporting by Louisa Hufstader
Islanders tend to do a lot of what used to be called mail-order business, except that much of the business isn't done by U.S. mail any more.
With the U.S. Postal Service reporting a $740 million loss for the third quarter of 2013, mail officials are scrambling to figure out how to make the agency profitable.
A ingredient to the recovery could be alcohol.
According to the Huffington Post, U.S. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe recently pitched an idea to allow the U.S. Postal Service to deliver beer, wine and spirits directly from wineries, breweries and distilleries straight to your doorstep.
"U.S. law currently prevents the Postal Service from mailing alcohol," the Huffington Post reported. "The Postal Service even asks customers to cover any alcohol-related logos or labels if they choose to use an alcoholic beverage box for shipping."
Donahoe claims that adding alcohol delivery could raise $50 million per year.
But while the plan, in theory, could generate dollars, many smaller businesses like craft and microbreweries would likely not have the staff, resources and inventory to meet the demand of alcohol delivery service.
Also in theory, Island package stores could take a hit if residents start turning to the mailman instead of making a beer run on their own.
Do you think Congress should allow the U.S Postal Service to deliver alcohol? Would you use the service? Do you think it would work on the Vineyard? Tell us in the comments.