Now, Everyone, Gasp In Surprise
Alan Greenspan has been revered in political and media circles since his benevolent reign over times of fortune as the Chair of the US Federal Reserve. Now Mr. Greenspan has acknowledged what many of us have been saying for a long time: fiscal stimulus didn’t work. (insert gasps of surprise here) Now, to his credit, ... Now, Everyone, Gasp In Surprise
To Slice or Not To Slice; a Taxing Question
Earlier this week, the WSJ reported on a nuance in the New York state tax code that has come take a bite out of at least one bagel company’s profits, and it illustrates how the complexities of arbitrary taxation schemes can rear their ugly heads and create incentives–and challenges–for consumers and sellers alike that would ... To Slice or Not To Slice; a Taxing Question
Food for thought, but don’t believe the label
“People who read food labels such as the Nutrition Facts Panel, ingredient lists or serving size are more likely to have healthier diets than those who do not read labels, according to a new study appearing in the August issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.” So reads the opening line of a ... Food for thought, but don’t believe the label
The (deficit) spender of last resort
Todd posts below about the $26 billion bill before the US House today as a gift to teachers (or perhaps more accurately, teachers unions) and school bureacrats. In reality, only $10 billion of the funds is specifically slated to rehire laid off teachers and some other public employees. The other $16 billion is to fund ... The (deficit) spender of last resort
Copyright Conundrum
Earlier this year, the US Supreme Court granted a writ of certiorari to Costco in the case of OMEGA SA v. Costco Wholesale Corp. (541 F. 3d 982 (2008)). At issue is whether the ‘first sale doctrine’ of US copyright law (17 U.S.C. § 109(a)), which limits the copyright owner’s ability to restrict distribution of ... Copyright Conundrum
Ag Antitrust and the Packers & Stockyards Act
The theme of the newest issue of the CPI Antitrust Chronicle focuses on agriculture and antitrust. The issue includes a paper by yours truly on the difficulties of effectively using the Packers & Stockyards Act of 1921 as an alternate means for enforcing competition policy in the agriculture sector (see here; also available at SSRN ... Ag Antitrust and the Packers & Stockyards Act
Getting The Cart Before The Horse Exposes the Horse's Rear
Will someone remind me just why the USDA and DOJ are hosting their little Antitrust in Ag roadshow this year? The Associated Press reports today that the USDA is set to release a new set of regulations on the livestock and poultry industries. Reporter Christopher Leonard describes the new regulations as “the most sweeping antitrust ... Getting The Cart Before The Horse Exposes the Horse's Rear
DOJ Stumbling Out Of The Gate On Antitrust In Ag
Wednesday, April 7, J.P. Stadtmueller, U.S. District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, gave the green light for DOJ’s antitrust case against Dean Foods to move forward. Dean had filed a motion to dismiss based on its assertion that the DOJ had failed to provide sufficient evidence to support the DOJ’s antitrust claim ... DOJ Stumbling Out Of The Gate On Antitrust In Ag
The Market Responds
The final vote hasn’t even been taken to “fix” the omnibus (or ominous) health care “reform” legislation that President Obama signed into law this week, and already the first volley of the market’s response has been sounded. Today’s Wall Street Journal Online reports that “Prices of most Treasury notes and bonds were lower after relatively ... The Market Responds
The Enforcers [#agworkshop] [#dojusda]
To expand on Geoff’s post about concentration in the seed industry, there has been a consistent line of discussion throughout the day raising the specter of monopoly and anti-competitive behavior, not only in seed but also in livestock. There are continual references to adverse price effects and limitations in choice for consumers and producers alike, ... The Enforcers [#agworkshop] [#dojusda]
A More "Competitive" Agriculture? [#agworkshop]
The morning’s panel of farmers represented a variety of perspectives, ranging from more reasoned to more reactionary. Among the ideas suggested: More reasoned: Find a balance between food and fuel in the policy debate (though no clear directions how) Increase trade in global markets (always easy to talk about forcing other countries to buy more ... A More "Competitive" Agriculture? [#agworkshop]
The Aggregation Problem [#agworkshop]
As Geoff noted, we’re stationed at the DOJ/USDA workshop to witness the goings on and provide some comments. US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack opened this session with a laundry list of statistics concerning rural America and the agriculture sector. The statistics focused on national concentration ratios and national averages, which are tremendously deceiving for ... The Aggregation Problem [#agworkshop]
