the dirty politics of milk

I hate subsidies. When special interests can bribe lawmakers to setup market distorting regulatory schemes, the special interests can effectively steal millions of dollars from consumers without anyone raising an eyebrow. They get away with it because consumers are only getting bilked for a few cents at a time. It's just business as usual. Here's an article about the dirty politics of the dairy industry:

In the summer of 2003, shoppers in Southern California began getting a break on the price of milk.

A maverick dairyman named Hein Hettinga started bottling his own milk and selling it for as much as 20 cents a gallon less than the competition, exercising his right to work outside the rigid system that has controlled U.S. milk production for almost 70 years. Soon the effects were rippling through the state, helping to hold down retail prices at supermarkets and warehouse stores.

That was when a coalition of giant milk companies and dairies, along with their congressional allies, decided to crush Hettinga's initiative. For three years, the milk lobby spent millions of dollars on lobbying and campaign contributions and made deals with lawmakers, including incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.).

Last March, Congress passed a law reshaping the Western milk market and essentially ending Hettinga's experiment -- all without a single congressional hearing.

The last line in the story is a brilliant commentary on why America is still worth loving, despite the frequent stupidity of our government:

"I still think this is a great country," Hettinga said. "In Mexico, they would have just shot me."