Western Livestock Journal Jan 6, 2022

Source: Steve Dittmer | Western Livestock Journal https://www.wlj.net/opinion/dittmers_take/dittmer-s-take-government-help-it-is-not/article_778753b4-6f05-11ec-94fc-7b874297c0f2.html

Government help, it is not

I know there are folks who think the only force big enough to throttle back the power of the big packers is the government. But that is like using sticks of dynamite to weed your garden. No one knows where the weeds will land, and the holes in your garden present problems for hoeing or irrigating.

You’ve likely noticed that economists don’t always agree, especially regarding issues like big corporations and prices. I’ve always said that economics is first and foremost a study of human behavior, rather than the touted econometric models.

Some economists put their ideology first, ahead of factual historical proof and the ways humans do respond, versus the way they would like people to respond.

The Biden administration, sagging drastically in the polls and losing on their big spending leviathan—so far—are desperate to find inflation fixes and culprits to blame. Contrary to their beliefs, government regulations or restrictions on the beef supply chain will only increase prices, worsen inflation and further restrict supply.

There are those who believe that big government solves everything and who lack common sense. How else could they think that making it harder and more expensive to process meat by the government charging into a time-tested supply chain—already struggling with throughput, not capacity—could fix things?

Study the West Coast port problems, and you’ll find out three of the biggest problems are federal government, state government and labor unions...

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