Why we pay more for dairy

Dear editor: Is supply management an outdated concept?

A good example is the dairy and egg marketing boards. Canadians through forced, government-mandated, retail-based subsidies pay more for these products than those in the U.S.

A dozen eggs in the U.S. can cost you $1.50; compare this to Canada at $2.50; U.S. cheese around $6-7 for two pounds. Compare this to $10 in Canada. Milk, another Canadian staple, costs you around $4.50 compared to $3 in the U.S. Butter $4.50 in Canada is also $3 in the U.S.

To protect the annual income of dairy farmers too many of the poor never see cheese other than in macaroni. Squeezed incomes consume less of these important food sources because government supply and management policies protect the dairy industry, guaranteeing stable prices for farm incomes year after year.

So why are dairy products much cheaper in the U.S.? The U.S. subsidizes farmers up to $22 million annually through general revenue.

Subsidies from general revenue tax all citizens at “incremental-to-income” general taxation rates. Because Canada chooses to protect dairy farmers at the consumer level through supply and management controls the yearly monetary benefit received from the taxpayer through marketing boards is concealed.

This misleading user-pay philosophy is detrimental to the poor. Those on welfare or low-paying jobs, when using these products, subsidize the dairy industry at a high rate of taxation when compared to the