Quote:
Originally Posted by blankall
Also take into account these farmers have been reaping the benefits of vastly inflated milk prices for some time. So if they expanded their quotas, the capital to do so probably came from inflated milk prices. The price fixing we're talking about here is significant at 50+%.
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The reason we have a quota system at all is because our products (in Canada) had fluctuating prices in different seasons due to the seasonal photoperiod. This was put into place to protect the consumer and the producer. Although this may be considered obsolete due to artificial insemination and bird housing techniques (regulating the photoperiod in hatching barns), the principle stands.
Regulating the prices of any product that is supply managed was meant to be a benefit to everyone. I don't think the prices we pay are too large. If you consider the proportion of income to the cost of food over the last 70 or so years, the amount of money we spend on food is below 15%, in comparison to 50% of years past. This means that food is cheaper. Inflation hasn't caused the foods to go up in price very much, but rather other commodities and goods.
The reason we pay more for our products here is for quality assurance. It costs more to run our operations than it does in the states. Yes, the profits are higher, but that is generally what you pay for a better over-all product.