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David Kinkade

Milking Consumers

Updated: Apr 15

Earlier this week, I wrote about the Arkansas Milk Stabilization Board, a scam an entity created by the Arkansas legislature in 2007 to seek out solutions to salvage the state’s dying dairy industry.

Agriculture Secretary Richard Bell is floating an idea for a “fee” (read: tax increase) to be levied by the state on milk wholesalers, with the proceeds going to the state’s 145 remaining dairy farmers. The board is considering taking Bell’s proposal to the legislature.

But Bell and the Arkansas Milk Stabilization Board may want to first study up on what’s going on in Puerto Rico, where it looks like they’ve got it figured out:

When Wal-Mart started selling milk for $1.46 per quart in Puerto Rico, state regulators sprang into action to put a stop to the low prices. It seems the state government sets a floor threshold for milk prices to protect the local milk industry, and Wal-Mart’s price was 36 cents too low. Damn you, Wal-Mart! Is there no end to your treachery?

Ah, but worry not—Wal-Mart was warned and will reportedly raise their prices to meet the regulatory standard.

So there you go, Richard Bell and the Arkansas Milk Stabilization Board: A new approach to sticking it to consumers on behalf of a narrow special interest that you may not have considered yet. You can read all about it in this AP story. Don’t say I didn’t do my part to help.

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