Friday, November 25, 2011

Food and the Market

This video speaks primarily about farmers in the agriculture and dairy sectors. This discussion also applies to areas of Newfoundland's economy which employs similar price-fixing strategies.

I believe any subsidy or tariff or whatever is always a bad idea. In this case, there is a board which markets dairy products throughout Canada mostly. This board controls the supply and thus the price of these products. Their reasoning is that unless they do this, the prices will be pushed down and farmers will lose out. I understand that. But farmers make up only a tiny percentage of people in Canada. With this system, the price of milk is artificially high. In Newfoundland it's around $4 for 2L carton. Without this artificial price hike, the price could possibly be $3, maybe less. This affects every Canadian in the country.

We must end all subsidies. If you cannot compete, then that is an indicator to say you are not productive enough and should seek out a more profitable area in the economy. Without this system of profits and losses, there can be no progress.

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