Biden trying to create tax ‘cartel’ among nations

“Capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism; it’s exploitation. Without healthy competition, big players can … charge whatever they want and treat you however they want.” President Biden’s cogent statement about the benefits of competition would make Adam Smith smile in his grave. What could be more obvious? When one or all of the major players in an industry get to set prices while avoiding the threat of a competitor offering a better deal, the consumer suffers.

Maybe it’s time we start applying more of this same thinking to governments themselves. After all, this is the administration that celebrated a multi-country agreement to establish and maintain a minimum level of corporate income taxes. The move promises to undermine the ability of the people to hold policymakers accountable.

With his comment, President Biden was addressing the run-up in meat prices and how the structure of the meat processing industry — where poultry, swine and beef make their way into the food supply chain — seemed to disadvantage consumers as well as farmers and growers. There is no doubt about what has happened to meat prices. Anyone looking at price data will see an amazing spike. In November, the Bureau of Labor Statistics index for meat, poultry, eggs and fish was up 12.8% from a year ago. And anyone who does the family grocery shopping, as I do, will bear witness to the fact that budgets are being strained by higher grocery prices.

But evidence of higher prices is not proof that something is awry with meat producers. There are lots of moving parts in the price puzzle — the obvious one being rising inflation throughout the economy, driven in part by Biden’s infusions of cash into the economy. The structure of the industry is just one piece to this puzzle. – READ MORE