Socialist farmers cry over spilled milk. European dairy farmers are upset. Because milk prices are too low. Because they’re producing too much milk. So the obvious answer is to let the market correct itself until there are fewer dairy farmers and less milk, right? Right? Silly goose, of course not…
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My cousin is a dairy man. He makes adequate money, but he's not building any mansions, or taking any European vacations. Or any vacations for that matter. He works in the dairy ever day 24/7/365 or 6. He milks twice a day, so he can't even take short one day trips unless they are short enough to guarantee he willbe back in time for the evening milking. Besides, the story is from Europe, so just what do you expect? They have been sold a bill of goods that thy would always have an good income,. helathcare, pensions, etc and now they are finding that maybe the government overstated the benefits just a tad.
I was driving out across the countryside last night, and off in the distance saw an absolute MANSION being built of beautiful stone and wood. Four story, with huge cantilevered beam awnings in strategic spots, lots of darkened glass window. Beautiful, many multiple millions of dollars. Yep, the home of the man that owns the dairy.
Now, I'm not against a man making good money providing a product or service, but THIS only happens when there are things like government price supports.
And don’t forget the federal government accumuluated billions of dollars worth of excess cheese trying to prop up dairy prices over the years, which they stored in caves around the country: http://thewarningsigns.blogspot.com/2011/02/deep-underground-food-storage.html
It’s insane.
This gives new meaning to 'getting on the government tit.'
Again, I blame Corporate Greed.
I though europe solved their corporate problems by going commie, they should lame out and blame bush
Um, isn't this exactly what Roosevelt did? Don't I recall stories of WPA or National Recovery agents or something driving tanker trucks full of milk over storm drains and opening them? Same situation, same rationale, same solution.
And a similar solution to excess pork, I think, too.
The problem is cows only have so many tits, the government has a few million - and the milk of extorted money hit it's peak some time ago.
We have a lot of excess pork in Washington, DC. Can we send them down the drain?
"You can tell a farmer what to charge for a chicken. But you can't keep him from drowning the bird."
- Steve Chapman on why government price controls do not work
Well, not exactly true... the way gubbermint keeps the farmer from drowning the birds is to collectivize the farms and execute the farmers, in the name of the "public good" of course. Farmers, beware.