Righting the Wrong of Cheaper Milk
The Washington Post tells the sad but instructive tale of a dairy farmer who took advantage of a "loophole" in milk price regulations (for producers who bottle their own milk) to undersell his competitors. Consumers benefited from lower prices, and he made a nice profit. When members of Congress heard about this scam from other dairy farmers, who also happened to be campaign donors, they shut it down. Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), whose district is thick with dairy farms (including one founded by his grandfather), calls passage of the cartel-enforcing legislation a victory for "every dairy farmer in America except those who were gaming the system." Tellingly, Nunes makes no mention of consumers, who spend an extra $1.5 billion or so a year because of the government's milk marketing restrictions, according to Citizens Against Government Waste. He explains that "people out there were making millions of dollars a year off the backs of America's dairy farmers….That was a wrong that was finally righted."
[Thanks to Paul Davis for the link.]