Spilt Milk, Anchor Babies, High Grocery Bills

As we cry over spilt milk and “anchor babies” separated from undocumented parents who are deported, maybe some tears should be shed for our American agriculture policies which subsidize milk production and regulate dairy prices (“A Bust and a Blow to a Business,” October 1, 2007). By inflating prices, the government milk price-support programs cost taxpayers more than $4 billion annually in subsidies and adds millions of dollars more to our grocery bills. These programs are designed to “prop up” unsustainable businesses in competition with consolidated dairy operations which are more mechanized and efficient.

Why don’t we let the marketplace decide which companies are winners and losers instead of the government, which gives subsidies with one hand and deports foreign workers with the other?

Ralph W. Conner (rconner@heartland.org) is local legislation manager for The Heartland Institute.