By C. Robert Taylor and David Domina Many academic economists have blinders on: All they see is efficiency, efficiency, efficiency. This is true of recent comments about GIPSA proposed regulations and the Packers & Stockyards Act of 1921. It is also true of numerous economic analyses by government and academic economists. Generations of economists have recognized that economic efficiency is necessarily a value-laden concept, and a particularly narrow view of economic affairs at that. Nevertheless, economists responsible for Read More …
Day: February 1, 2011
Packers and Stockyards Act; Nullified by Judcial Activism! – Must We Let It Rest in Peace?
Thomas F. “Fred” Stokes Executive Director The Rule doesn’t reinvent the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921 (PSA) but rather reinvigorates it”, so says David Domina, OCM General Counsel of the Proposed GIPSA Rule published on the federal register June 22, 2010. The rule was issued pursuant to the 2008 Farm Bill to clarify and interpret the 89 year old Packers and Stockyards Act, but the PSA (sometimes called the producer’s protection act) may well be nullified by Read More …
Time to Start Discussing a Solution
by Randy Stevenson, President Controversy has erupted over the proposed new GIPSA rules. This disagreement is not unusual in a discussion of the details of the role of government in the marketplace. Nearly everybody agrees that government involvement ought to be “just right”, and not too much nor too little. The disagreement comes over what constitutes “just right”. One argument brought forth by both sides is that the nature of the marketplace has changed. Whereas cattle for slaughter Read More …
Bacon
by Richard Oswald According to National Public Radio, (1), the one thing vegans can’t resist is a slice of crispy fried pork. That makes bacon the gateway meat for wavering vegetarians. Bacon lures us first through smell, which has a lot to do with the way tastebuds do their job. It has salt, protein, and fat—things human bodies crave. That’s why a scientist named Johan Lundstrom claims the bacon/human love affair happens simply because our brains are wired Read More …