December 10, 2006
Who is Harvesting Cash?
Arnold KlingThe Washington Post has another in a series that looks at our corrupt agriculture policies.
A maverick dairyman named Hein Hettinga started bottling his own milk and selling it for as much as 20 cents a gallon less than the competition, exercising his right to work outside the rigid system that has controlled U.S. milk production for almost 70 years. Soon the effects were rippling through the state, helping to hold down retail prices at supermarkets and warehouse stores.That was when a coalition of giant milk companies and dairies, along with their congressional allies, decided to crush Hettinga's initiative.
Even though I agree that our agricultural policy is corrupt, I do not think people in Washington should feel smug about it. The DC metropolitan area is "harvesting cash" at taxpayers' expense to a much higher degree than is rural America. If the Post were to direct our outrage toward the wealth that has accumulated in the Washington DC area suburbs, then that would be a real man-bites-dog story.
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