Sunday, July 28, 2013

Why Does The United States Government Need A “Raisin Reserve?”

Until I read about a Florida Congressman who wants to eliminate it, I had no idea the United States has a “raisin reserve,” and I’ve got to wonder why it ever existed in the first place:
A Florida congressman has introduced a bill that would eliminate one of the U.S. government’s most unusual institutions: the Raisin Administrative Committee, keepers of the national raisin reserve.
The raisin reserve is a program established by the Truman administration which gives the Agriculture Department a heavy-handed power to meddle in the supply and demand for raisins.
To limit the supply of raisins on the market, the government can simply take tons of raisins from the farmers who grew them. The raisins go into a “reserve.” They are often kept off the U.S. market: sold overseas, perhaps, or given to needy schoolchildren.
Sometimes, the farmers don’t get paid a cent in return.

http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/why-does-the-united-states-government-need-a-raisin-reserve/ 

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