Vote yes August 14
OUR VIEW
After much thought and deliberation on the matter, The Thomasville Times is endorsing a yes vote on the issue of legalized alcohol sales in Thomasville.

The issue is one of progress and economics.

Thomasville is already illegally wet.

Residents of our fair city regularly drive just a few miles to purchase alcoholic beverages in our neighboring counties and bring it back across the county line into Thomasville. Those sales pay sales taxes and the stores make profit and employ people.

The revenues represented by those purchases could be coming here instead, and they should be.

With such close proximity to package stores in our neighboring counties, whatever the supposed costs of going wet are, Thomasville is surely already paying them, and getting nothing in return.

Projects demand revenue

Increasing costs of doing business and improving our infrastructure to prime Thomasville for growth costs money.

And most of the costs must be borne up front before payback can take place over future years. The revenue from alcohol sales can help Thomasville continue pushing forward in a progressive manner that makes this town more attractive to its residents and interested businesses.

Economic development

Information provided by the city's development and planning office indicates that at least six investment groups representing full service restaurants have requested information on Thomasville within the past year. The office said several major restaurants are even now awaiting the outcome of the vote to make a decision on whether they should come to Thomasville.

And restaurants are just the first part of the equation. Evidence shows that dry cities on a growth trend can capitalize on and stimulate that growth trend by going wet.

Bottom line

The issue here is not whether alcohol creates problems. Whatever problems alcohol may create, Thomasville is surely already having to deal with them. It is time we took the revenue from alcohol sales and kept it here where it can do some good. Vote yes on August 14.

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