The government has decided that they know what’s good for you better for you than you do. So they tax alcohol at incredibly high rates.

Without this more pubs could exist. So I don’t think it’s a case of subsidising as much as removing the disincentive.

▲

yunohn 3 hours ago | parent [-]

I’m not familiar with the UK, but is the tax on alcohol at pubs higher than at a store? My general understanding was that people have just shopped visiting pubs for other reasons - like diluted drinks, crappy food, loud music, etc.

▲

t-3 2 hours ago | parent [-]

Bars and pubs aren't really competing against the store or restaurants, they're competing against you drinking alone or with only close friends. If stepping in to have a beer and shoot the shit would cost a significant chunk of a day's wages, you just won't do it, but if I can buy more beer with an hours wages than I can drink in an hour, it's not a bad time.

▲

iso1631 2 hours ago | parent [-]

Weatherspoons charge under £3 for a pint in town. That's 15 minutes at minimum wage.

Beer was far more expensive 25 years ago - £1.60 in 2000 in the student pub when I first started buying my own beer, that was about half an hour at minimum wage.

On the cost side: Wages are higher, energy costs more, rent is higher (because if the pub can't operate the owner can get planning permission to convert it to a private dwelling and sell it for £600k rather than making £12k a year in rent)

On the demand side: People are healthier and drink less. It's nowhere near as acceptable to go out for a few pints at lunch time. People can't drive to a rural pub.

	▲	messe 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		> Weatherspoons charge under £3 for a pint in town. That's 15 minutes at minimum wage. Yeah but then you've to drink at spoons.