Right now someone on Craigslist is advertising a "fantastic lunch/dinner bar/restaurant opportunity in the heart of downtown Peabody." The rent is $1,900 a month, but INCLUDES FULL LIQUOR LICENSE! (caps, exclamation, courtesy of the seller).

Price: $255,000.

Clearly, someone thinks the liquor license is worth a lot of money. And it probably is, as long as there are no other licenses currently available in the city.

It's yet another reason the Legislature ought to consider revamping the archaic laws governing the issuance of such licenses.

Forget, for the moment, the argument that the number of licenses should be dictated by the market rather than population and the whims of elected officials. Meanwhile it should be left to those who make zoning policy to determine where establishments serving alcohol are allowed to locate.

But if there's money to be made from such licenses, it ought to go to the issuing city or town rather than the person who happens to possess one when the moment is right.

Under the way the system works now, some get their licenses for practically nothing, while others pay exorbitant amounts. Among the former were Salem's hot new nightspot, Tavern in the Square, and the still-to-be-built Black Cow in Beverly.

Special legislation was passed to increase the number of licenses in those communities in order to accommodate them. Thus they paid only the normal processing fee.

Good deal for them, and mayors Driscoll and Scanlon will argue, a good deal for their respective communities as well. Tavern in the Square has brought new life to a formerly moribund corner of downtown Salem, while the Black Cow is the centerpiece of an ambitious and long-awaited waterfront development plan in Beverly.

But has been argued in this space previously, it's not right that a private entity is allowed to profit from the sale of what should be the public's license.

If a license is no longer needed at a particular location, it should be returned to the licensing authority, not posted on Craigslist. Given the current fiscal squeeze the schools and other municipal agencies are facing, we're certain Peabody officials could find good use for whatever portion of that $255,000 is going for purchase of a license.