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Farmers are hurting. A Vermont dairy operation is for sale that had been run by the same family since George Washington was president. Warning of "a disaster in the making," Sen. Bernie Sanders has met with and sent a letter to the U.S. agriculture secretary about boosting price supports. He also asked the Justice Department antitrust division to take "a very serious look" at Dean Foods Inc., the Dallas-based company that dominates the New England milk market. To watch a video of the senator's remarks, click here
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"The dairy industry has been, and remains, a vital part of Vermont's economic engine and a central part of the fabric of our communities. All Vermonters understand that if family-based dairy farming is to continue in any significant way in our state and throughout the country, America's dairy farmers must receive fair prices for the products they produce," Sanders said in a letter inviting Dean Foods CEO Gregg L. Engles to come to Vermont and meet with dairy farmers. Dean controls approximately 70 percent of the dairy market in New England and 40 percent nationally. It processes and markets such well-known brands as Dean's, Garelick Farms, and Horizon Organic. It sells processed milk to major retailers such as Wal-Mart Supercenters, Sam's Club, Giant, and Stop & Shop.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the All Milk Price paid to dairy farmers dropped over the last year from $19.30 per hundredweight to $11.40 per hundredweight. In other words, in June 2008 farmers were receiving nearly 70 percent more per gallon of milk than they were in June 2009. Prices that dairy farmers are receiving today are at the same level as they were three decades ago, even though the costs of production and every other expense facing farmers has gone up many times over that period. The drop in prices paid to farmers has not coincided with a drop in prices for consumers. While New England dairy farmers receive just $1.00 per gallon of milk, Americans are paying on average $3.01 per gallon at their local store.From the Press
07/30/2009 - Aid sought for dairy struggling farmers (Burlington Free Press) »
Vermont lawmakers seek federal assistance
WASHINGTON — Responding to an economic crisis in the dairy industry, Vermont’s congressional delegation spent Wednesday working on ways to help struggling farmers stay afloat.
Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders were among senators who met with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to press for a short-term increase in the price the federal government pays for milk and dairy products in the marketplace.
Sanders said every possible approach to address the crisis should be examined, including an increase in the dairy support price. Continuing to lose farms “will be a disaster not only for the agricultural community but for the economy of the state and all of our people,” he said.
The CEO of the nation's largest milk processor declined an invitation to speak to Vermont dairy farmers about plummeting milk prices and said milk processors "do not set the price paid to dairy farmers."
That rejection prompted a sharply worded reply from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Sanders blames Dallas-based Dean Foods Co., which he says controls 70 percent of New England's milk market and 40 percent of the U.S. market, for helping suppress milk prices to generate massive profit gains.
In a phone interview Monday, Sanders said he was pursuing an anti-trust investigation of the dairy industry through the U.S. Justice Department -- which, he says, could lead to the breakup of Dean Foods.
What is wrong with healthcare in America? I think many would argue the problem with healthcare in America is the rising cost of healthcare. But why are the costs of healthcare rising? Is it because of greedy profit seeking doctors, nurses, health insurance companies, medical equipment manufacturers, or drug makers? What about lawsuits and the cost of insurance to guard against such lawsuits and potential financial liability? What about the increase in costs due to deteriorating health, be it old age or poor eating and exercise habits? Is it actually inflation (and thus proves the inflation numbers are in fact massaged or manipulated)? Or is rising costs simply a unique component of the health care industry because it involves treating human beings and trying to save lives?
One aspect of the healthcare industry that is very different from others is the fact that you have many people receiving the service without paying for it. Generally speaking emergency rooms can’t really turn anyone away, but many people who visit emergency rooms don’t end up paying for the service themselves. Even if the one receiving treatment doesn’t pay, there is still a cost (nurses’ and doctors’ pay, supply and machine use, as well as medications) that must be paid by someone. When costs of a business go up, business will generally try and pass that cost onto the consumers. So the more people who obtain healthcare services without paying for it, the higher the cost of that service will be, which inevitably leads to increased costs for those who do pay for it.
This phenomenon is not very common in other service industries because generally speaking if you don’t pay for a service you normally don’t receive the service. For example, if you call Dell for tech support but you don’t have an account with them (or you didn’t purchase a Dell product), you generally won’t get any tech support without paying for it. However, it is relatively easy to obtain cable TV for little to no cost simply by splitting your neighbors’ cable signal and running a line to your TV. The difference here is the cable TV signal is already being broadcast whether you get the signal or not, and using the service without paying for it won’t really increase any costs for the cable company. The signal is already there being broadcast whether you pay for cable TV service or not.
Before we decide on a solution to the healthcare problem in the US, can we first agree on what the fundamental problem is? So the question I pose to you is, what is really wrong with the healthcare system, at the core? Would you agree that the rising costs of healthcare is the root of the problem? Please post your comments. Thank you.
curious
In the midst of the debate, with Matthew’s mother, Judy Shepard, in the Visitors Gallery to hear every word, Republican Representative Virginia Foxx of North Carolina’s 5th District resorted to outright lies to try to stop passage of the LLEHCPA:
“…I also would like to point out that there was a bill -- the hate crimes bill that's called the Matthew Shepard bill is named after a very unfortunate incident that happened where a young man was killed, but we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn't because he was gay. This…the bill was named for him, hate crimes bill was named for him, but it's really a hoax that…that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills…”
Rachel Maddow had a chance to speak exclusively with Judy Shepard after the vote about how she felt about what the US House had done & to comment on Rep. Foxx’s reprehensible mis-characterization of her son:
Being me, I examined the results of that House vote & thought I’d share it here.
Of the 256 Democrats currently in the US House:
There is also a vacancy in California’s 32nd District at present, due to Rep. Hilda Solis (D) being appointed as President Obama’s Labor Secretary.
Of the 178 Republicans in the US House:
18 Voted FOR The Matthew Shepard Act
158 Voted AGAINST
2 DID NOT VOTE
It’s also interesting to note where the 17 Democrats who voted against the LLEHCPA came from:
3 came from the Midwestern States
1 came from the Northeastern States
13 CAME FROM THE SOUTHERN STATES
NONE of the Democrats from Western States voted against
As for the Republicans who voted in favor of the LLEHCPA:
2 came from Midwestern States
7 came from the Northeastern States
5 came from the Southern States
4 came from the Western States
Next stop for the Matthew Shepard Act is the U.S. Senate. Not sure what the prospects in the Senate are right now, but I’m feeling more hopeful now than I have in the past…oh…8 years or so.
