Trump's Egg Policy
What Eggs Can Teach Us About the Role of Government
The current administration is breaking all of its policy rules when it comes to eggs. Their new approach can teach us a lot about the role of government and remind us why government is important.
Trump’s Egg Policy
The market has seen a 50% surge in egg prices due to an avian influenza outbreak. In response, the federal government plans to introduce a five-pronged strategy:
Import eggs from other nations
$1 billion to combat avian flu funded in 2021
$500 million in biosecurity measures
$400 million in relief to impacted farmers
$100 million for vaccine research
This approach is needed but violates every aspect of the current administration's policies. Here is how:
Trade
The current administration has been clear about its position on trade. However, it is willing to open its borders for eggs. For free trade supporters, this is an excellent example of why trade helps. As the supply of eggs increases, Americans will benefit by experiencing lower egg prices.
Biden Policy
The $1 billion allocated to combat avian flu was a policy of the Biden administration. It is great that the current administration is supporting this policy. It shows bipartisan support.
Supporting Farmers
The $400 million allocated to support farmers is an excellent example of how the government can be an insurer of last resort. Farmers have been negatively impacted by the avian flu, which is out of their control. The government subsidizing them with $400 million will relieve them during a challenging time.
Instead of telling farmers to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, America is coming together to chip in. Our collective tax dollars are paying to support a segment of the economy experiencing a difficult time. Sometimes, we need policies that target specific groups.
Research and Development
The $100 million investment in vaccine research is precisely what the market needs to ensure that we can tackle this issue better in the future. This signals that, in this case, the current administration sees the value of science and research. Innovation requires monetary investment, and sadly, funding from private markets is not enough. Public funding can help America innovate.
The Takeaway
In short, the policies proposed to solve the issues in the egg market are great examples of policies we should consider: free trade, bipartisan policies, supporting impacted segments of our economy, and investment in research and development.
Why do these policies apply to the egg market? What is different about the egg market?
Another issue is the EPA not backing the farmers enough with this bird flu pandemic
Very good discussion, and I agree! My only comment is with respect to support for affected industries: subsidies for industries affected by market fluctuations can easily get out of hand -- the best way I can think of to prevent this would be to have the decision to support or not made by an independent board made up of citizens, farmers and scientists, to determine when an event is sufficiently unusual and significant that government support is needed. This supports the principle of having transfers decided by independent bodies with deep knowledge of the issues involved, but not dominated by those with an incentive to line their own pockets, nor by politicians spending other people's money to improve their own standing.