Via Michael Krieger of Liberty Blitzkrieg blog [3],
You might have to read this post twice to make sure your eyes didn’t deceive you. This article is actually completely different from my recent pieces on stealth inflation, but is even more infuriating. In this case, a grocery store called Fresh Markets decided to sell milk at a bargain basement price as part of a promotion, yet the state has deemed the price “too low.” As a result, the chain is being forced to raise the price. Yep, at a time when millions are struggling every day to make ends meet, this is what the state of Louisiana has decided it a priority that the cost of milk is higher for consumers in the state. This is exactly what happens when bureaucrats exert to much influence in our daily lives. From the Daily Caller:
Louisiana state regulators recently cracked down on a supermarket chain’s weekly promotional deal because it was selling milk too cheaply — which violates state law.
The upscale Fresh Markets was selling gallons of milk for $2.99 as part of a weekly promotional deal. Louisiana requires that retailer price markups be at least six percent above the invoice and shipping costs of the product.
“They can sell it six percent over cost all day long. It’s when they sell it below cost that it becomes a problem,” State Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain told The Advocate.
After getting a complaint about Fresh Market’s promotional deal, Strain’s office sent an auditor to a French Markets store.
At least one Fresh Market shopper was outraged when he found that the state government had intervened to control the store’s milk prices.
No one can seem to put a banker in jail, but sell milk too cheap and regulators are all over you. What a disgrace.
Full article here [4].