Hein Hettinga had a really bad day yesterday. He’s having a really bad day today. And if you live in Arizona or California and drink milk, you’re about to have a really bad day, too.
On Tuesday, President George W. Bush quietly signed into law S. 2120, the so-called Milk Regulatory Equity Act of 2005, a carefully crafted piece of legislation which was aimed squarely at preventing Hettinga’s dairy farm from offering milk at lower prices than Dean Foods and other large milk distributors such as the Dairy Farmers of America.
“Basically, I’m a pebble in the shoe of DFA and Dean Foods,” Hettinga said. “The only reason I’m a success is they are a milk monopoly and they have raised the price too high. The consumer is getting ripped off.”
So the days of buying two gallons of Hettinga’s Sarah Farms milk for $3.99 are over.
The bill, passed in both the House and Senate with almost no debate, amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act, part of the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, and will require Hettinga to participate in federal milk marketing order requirements, effective May 1.
The federal milk marketing program requires most milk producers and handlers to set minimum prices on their products and to pool their revenues. It also tries to balance the supply and demand of milk and milk products, which can vary widely from day to day.
Whether that’s actually true, or the milk marketing program is even needed, is debatable, as Hettinga’s success shows. The new law would, in effect, require Hettinga to pay his competitors to stay in business.
Hettinga has also sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture over a rule passed last month which would impose similar requirements on his farms.
So how did the dairy industry do it? They got the best politician money can buy.
In the very short debate before the bill passed the House, Rep. Devin Nunez (R-Calif.) argued in support of it, and if you think he is a Republican, or even a conservative, or even understands the free market, you should hear what he had to say about the situation:
“Their ability to operate under preferential treatment in a highly regulated industry, while taking government subsidies, is not free market capitalism,” he said on the House floor March 28. Oh, but it gets better.
“The hard working dairy farmers in Arizona have witnessed a steady decline in their pool since unregulated handlers began to flourish. They deserve to be treated fairly by their government and should never be placed in a situation where government regulations unintentionally disadvantage them in the marketplace. Regulated processors in Arizona are no less efficient or innovative than their unregulated competitors. They are simply unable to compete with businesses that don’t have to play by the rules. This situation is wrong and must be resolved by Congress.”
So the way to resolve the situation and restore “fairness” to the system is to end the milk regulations, which in this day and age do little but to protect the largest dairy farm operations and keep prices artificially high.
“Let me be clear: unregulated handlers are not promoting market competition. They are driving out competition. They owe their success to the dairy programs and to the advantage they have found in loopholes,” Nunez said. So he urged Congress to pass the legislation to “close these loopholes and restore free market principles and fair regulation to the dairy industry.”
Now it’s clear that Nunez doesn’t seem to understand much of anything about free market principles. There hasn’t been a free market in milk in this country since 1937. And it shows in the grossly overinflated prices we pay for milk, cheese, butter and other dairy products. This government regulation seems to have outlived its usefulness and should be scrapped entirely. That will restore free market principles and end the current system’s favor of large corporations which have steadily driven out the small family farmers ever since milk regulation began.
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Karl Marx would love the popular moves among politicians in various state governments and the federal government to ban so-called "junk" food in schools, and to "put healthy food in" convenience stores and on the tables of those they define as poor. It's a very elitist and arrogant mindset that promotes this ideology, and it needs to be addressed.
Ultimately, the war supporters in Congress prevailed in the vote on the resolution. Still, the vote was significant because it places every member of Congress on the record as supporting or not supporting the unconstitutional, costly, violent occupation of a country that never attacked us. This vote should serve as an important reminder to the American people of where their representatives really stand when it comes to policing the world, empire building, and war.
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Apr 12, 2006
Rant-O-Matic » Blog Archive » Milk Prices are going waaay up
J. Bruno
Apr 12, 2006
“This government
regulationseems to have outlived its usefulness and should be scrapped entirely.”Fixed.
Jason
Apr 13, 2006
Who cares about hiking Milk Prices when Gas is reaching $3 pretty freaking quick -_-.
Apr 18, 2006
Left Brain Female . . . in a Right Brain World » Carnival of Liberty XLI
Apr 18, 2006
The Unrepentant Individual » Carnival of Liberty XLI
Apr 18, 2006
Key Words
Oldsmoblogger
Apr 21, 2006
The potential silver lining in this story is this: When the cartel’s enforcers have to round up at gunpoint the producers who are smart and/or ambitious enough to try to opt out of the cartel, the jig is just about up.
On the other hand, it’s a “who hath ears, let him hear” sort of proposition, so it may depend on whether enough people (or, indeed, anyone) is listening.
Michael Hampton
Apr 21, 2006
I’m always listening. It appears others are as well.
Jul 12, 2006
Searchlight Crusade
Dec 12, 2006
The consequences of milk socialism - Homeland Stupidity
Dec 21, 2006
Two years of Homeland Stupidity - Homeland Stupidity
Norm
Mar 29, 2007
How are milk prices set? who sets the price?
Mom of 5
Apr 02, 2007
Thank god i am on WIC….so if milk goes up, the state and YOU the tax payers eat the bill! i get over 15 gallons of milk a month, you do the math. Oh after i get off of WIC in 5 years…i am buying myself 2 milk goats!!!
Anti Mom of 5
May 01, 2007
Way to go lady! You proudly declared your enjoyment of fleecing your own neighbors. I am sure they share in your enjoyment and now would hardly consider voicing their opinions against programs like WIC. And you wonder why its hard to keep wellfare programs alive in the US. Keep waving your banner and see if it doesnt get burned.
noname
May 10, 2007
Well just so you all know…its not the dairy farmers fault…its the government. just like the gas prices. the government decides what the prices are and when they will go up or down. I am a dairy farmer, and its important to remember fuel prices are up, feed prices are up and fertilizer prices are up. Even though the milk prices are up, the bills arent necessarily less.
Anonymous
Jul 09, 2007
i know Hein Hettinga.
Annie
Jul 15, 2007
Well if the government wants to raise milk prices and gas prices the least they could do is raise everyones salary. Its seems to me that prices have been sky rocketing without an increase in salary to pay the difference. The government is going downhill. I believe the money is going to fund Iraq after reading an article that stated Congress approved $87 billion just last year.
non anti mom
Jul 26, 2007
way to go wic mom, if u cant beat um, join um….its ok for big business to steal right, gas milk ect mandantory insurance the list goes on and the circle is still round, take take take, with no end in sight….keep it up corp america and more will aquire most goods that are takin for granted with the 357 credit card
Brian
Aug 01, 2007
Annie:
“Well if the government wants to raise milk prices and gas prices the least they could do is raise everyones salary. ”
Dear lord I hope you were kidding. Because if you weren’t, you really need to read up on what the government is for.
charlie britton
Aug 11, 2007
stop worrying about milk prices! worry about the cost of going to the plants, trillions +$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$,
Sep 17, 2007
Searchlight Crusade
Anonymous
Oct 10, 2007
Dont be stupid. The government hasn’t driven up milk prices. The cost of grain due to ethanol production (cows eat corn) and the fuel to truck the milk and the feed, and to fuel tracotors, the cost of petrolium based chemicals (pesticides, fertilizers) for the crops have gone up because of oil prices, and bad growing conditions have all been main contributers to the rise in milk prices. Take it from a farmer… and do your homework before you feed the media this garbage. Sadly the public is stupid enough to take to heart everything you post on this site.
T
Oct 21, 2007
To the people railing on the woman on WIC:
So, you think that the less fortunate of us should fall by the wayside and starve, receive no medical care, or become homeless. We all pay taxes. Some (but not enough) of those taxes go to help people who need it. Why don’t you put yourselves in her shoes? It’s no fun being dirt poor.
lol
Nov 08, 2009
Not everyone pays taxes..the less fortunate of people have fallen by the wayside for a reason..be it laziness or not. You can receive medical care, the hospital is required to give emergency care to you .. there will be no pity party for you, and obviously you have internet access and have time to read this worthless article, which shows you aren’t exactly poor, or are just financially irresponsible..