Once again the critics of Pennsylvania's Wine and Spirit Shops don't recognize how shortsighted it would be to sell these valuable state assets.

In the Post-Gazette series "Monopoly Money: The Control of Wine and Spirits In Pennsylvania" (Jan. 27-30), these critics smack down straw arguments. They offer no well-grounded proposals to replace the more than $500 million a year that the system generates for the state treasury.

It's dangerous that they dismiss the nationally recognized job that the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board's employees do to prevent the sale of alcohol to minors. And it's disappointing that they write off the significant progress that's been made to provide wider product selection, better prices, modern stores and knowledgeable, customer-friendly service.

But we cannot overlook that profits and taxes from the PLCB play a key role in the state budget and assure a 100-percent tax collection from liquor sales.

It makes no sense to sell an asset that generates enormous revenues year after year in return for a one-time financial fix that would leave us with uncertain income and less dependable, more costly tax collection.

As it is, benefits flow to Pennsylvania's taxpayers. If we were to sell the system, profits would go to the friends and supporters of those who advocate privatization.

We were further disappointed that the Post-Gazette turned to no retail industry experts to answer critics who call the PLCB inefficient. These critics say the system is mismanaged because some stores underperform.

The fact is that most large successful retailers operate stores that underperform. In a 630-store system it's not surprising that the PLCB confronts some unfavorable property leases, retail environments that constantly evolve and the need to serve a public in far-flung rural settings. We'd be concerned if the PLCB were not aggressively addressing these business realities. But it is.

Our decades of negotiations with retailers tell us that it's common for companies to have underperforming stores. They also tell us that the PLCB operates efficiently given its wide reach and obligation to serve even the most isolated parts of the state.

The critics point to the PLCB's distribution system based at three major warehouses as proof of inefficiency.

The fact is that in an effective distribution system, not every bottle and case in a $1.7 billion-a-year business is going to take the shortest route to the retail shelf. If any of us were to hire any of the most successful commercial delivery services to ship a package to a neighbor, that package would be picked up at our home or place of business and be taken to a central location. It would then be sorted and delivered by a route delivery worker. Such a routing system is not a sign of inefficiency, but of one that is modern, computer-driven and cost-effective.

Lastly, some critics want to sell the liquor system because they can't find the products they want.

Ironically, on the same day that the Post-Gazette completed its series, The New York Times ran an article by its wine writer describing how he shops outside New York when he can't find his preferred product in that state's privately owned stores. We dare say that we could go into Macy's today and not find everything we want. This hardly means that Macy's stores should close. In the case of Pennsylvania's Wine and Spirits Shops, each one is equipped with a computer that a clerk can use to order a product not in the store. If it's available online, it can be ordered and delivered to that store.

Would the public be better served by a privately owned system?

Privatization would flood many of our communities with small, poorly stocked and poorly maintained stores that would be a blight on our neighborhoods. It would leave some rural Pennsylvanians without reasonable access to a wine and spirits store. It would surrender the important state-of-the-art protection we provide to prevent purchases by minors -- no small matter. And it would leave all of us who are taxpayers with a burden we can't afford.

At today's Pennsylvania's Wine and Spirit Shops, sales are growing. A first-rate system prevents sales to underage drinkers. And more steps to improve service are at hand. It would be irresponsible to trade off this important asset and burden the state's taxpayers just to benefit insiders who would profit from a privatization scheme.