Thursday, February 21, 2008

Nixonomics's Returns?

"With the price of wheat and other grains soaring, a broad swath of food producers are calling on the government to help farmers rachet up production. ... Others are even calling for restrictions on exports--an effort unlikely to gain traction but one that illustrates the depth of food producers' concerns. ... Robb Mackie, president of the Washington-based American Bakers Association, is calling on government officials and Congress to respond to the high prices, which he says are 'raising serious domestic food security issues.' ... Restrictions of exports are unlikely to succeeed due to expected opposition from farm groups and U.S. trading partners. Such a move would be a throwback to 1980, when President Carter imposed an embargo on U.S. grain shipments to the former Soviet Union", WSJ, 14 February 2008.

What does Mackie think Uncle Sam can do aside from an export embago like Nixon did in 1973? Or does he want an end to all crop acreage restrictions?

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