Someone Should Tell Senator Hoeven The Sugar Program Is Not “No Cost”
I got the press release below from John Hoeven’s office expressing the Senator’s delight at the continued inclusion of what he describes as the “no-cost sugar program” in the farm bill.
There was an amendment to the Farm Bill defeated today that would have ended the sugar program. Hoeven was enthusiastic about the defeat.
“The sugar program provides American consumers with a dependable and affordable sugar supply while operating at no cost to U.S. taxpayers,” according to Hoeven.
Is that true? Does the sugar program really come at no cost? It’s a half truth. Hoeven is parsing his words very carefully. There’s no cost in that the government doesn’t make payments to sugar producers. But what the sugar program does is prop up high sugar prices by controlling sugar production and protecting sugar markets from international competition.
Sugar prices that are artificially inflated by government market controls certainly have a “cost” for Americans. In fact, it’s artificially high sugar prices from the government-protected sugar cartel that has caused so much of our food to be sweetened with corn-based sweeteners which are less healthy than sugar.
So thank you, Senator Hoeven, for a “no cost” sugar program that costs us all more at the grocery store.
