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Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Bush Admin Helps Out Big Beef

Following up on yesterday's post about the Bush Adminsitration's meddling in the labor market, here's another revealing example of how committed the administration is to the Free Market^TM ideology.

A federal appeals court has ruled that the government can prohibit meat packers from testing their animals for mad cow disease. Because the Agriculture Department tests only a small percentage of cows for the deadly disease, a Kansas meatpacker, Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, wanted to test all of its cows, but the government says it cannot. Larger meat companies worry that if Creekstone is allowed to perform the test and advertise its meat as safe, they could be forced to do the expensive test, too. The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said restricting the test was allowable.

The Bush Administration does not really believe that the government should be exorcised from all things economic. Rather, it takes an inconsistent approach in deciding when the appropriate time for market intervention is. Arguing that Americans should go without certain protections is just another method for businesses to increase their profits by trashing the environment, putting their workers at risk, and unleashing unsafe products on an unsuspecting public.

(h/t Stand Collender at Capital Gains and Games)

Image by Flickr user law_keven used under a Creative Commons license