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De Omnibus Dubitandum - Lux Veritas

Friday, October 25, 2013

Scandal in Candyland

Froma Harrop,October 24, 2013

Ever notice how some government programs draw the ire of almost everyone? Conservatives, liberals, environmentalists, libertarians, business, labor, consumers and grouchy taxpayers are all opposed. Yet these programs go on as though directed by an unstoppable particle beam from a neighboring galaxy. The public rarely sees who in Washington keeps the outrage in motion, and that's how "they" get away with it.  The sugar support program is one such curiosity. We will get into the "who" and "how," but first an explanation of why almost everyone hates it.
Americans pay about three times the world price of sugar because of a complex farm program designed to greatly enrich U.S. sugar growers and processors, in actuality a handful of families. (Editor's Note: This is covered very well in Timothy P. Carney's book, The BigRipoff, How Big Business and Big Government Steal Your Money.” Buy the book to find out why this goes on) Among other things, it limits imports of far cheaper sugar from impoverished Caribbean countries. It provides taxpayer-backed loans: If prices slip, the borrowers repay their loans with sugar, which taxpayers must sell at a loss or store at their own expense........To Read More.....

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