News item: The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is spending more than $173,000 to improve employee manners — making sure clerks say "hello," "thank you" and "come again" to customers.

I don't know about you, but I'd put up with rude sales clerk if we could purchase liquor cheaper.

Since the liquor store system is a monopoly in Pennsylvania and proceeds go into state coffers, I think we can safely point to this as another example of how government wastes our money.

From the Tribune-Review article:

Eric Epstein, a Harrisburg activist and founder of RockTheCapital.org, a voter education project, called the idea "a demented interpretation of happy hour."

"It's a sad state of affairs when you have to train people to be kind and courteous," he said.

Read more in The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.