The White House's Response to a Pandemic

The White House is offering $500 million in loan guarantees to smaller and regional beef processors. Obama says that market regulation went out of style in the 19 seventies. But how is it pro competition if the government intervenes to protect mam and pop from competitors who are doing a better job of meeting customer needs? We've talked about this a lot before. The feed crisis explains some of the woes of small ranchers. If the feed costs more, the rancher earns less. Higher prices will enable meat packers to pay higher wages; consumers will substitute other foods for beef.