The Progressive Policy Institute reports that U.S. consumers pay twice the world price for butter (about $1.80 a pound rather than $0.79, or $0.19 a stick extra) because of U.S. agricultural protection and price supports (Americans Pay More Than Twice The World Price For Butter.)
...For the United States, in 2004 the web of subsidies, price-setting, tariff and quota policies meant Americans paid about twice the world price for butter in supermarkets, and 45 percent above the world price for cheese. In practical terms, using July 2005 prices, this meant U.S. consumers paid 19 cents extra for each stick of butter.
And the burden doesn't fall evenly on all citizens. Of course the poor take a relatively heavier hit:
Dairy subsidies seem to cost America's Hispanic families most, since much of the U.S. dairy support comes through price-management and import limits rather than direct subsidies, and Hispanics spend more money on milk, cheese, and butter (as well as fruits and vegetables, which are not subsidized) than other ethnicities. Low-income families also spend relatively more on dairy products; wealthy families along with Asian and African-American families spend relatively less.
Comments