Put an end to price fixing
Fixing the prices of food is an evil far beyond a violation of the law. It is pure thievery. It steals money from the pockets of consumers and producers, too — the farmers, ranchers and those engaged in every aspect of getting the food from farm to table.
Artificially keeping prices high literally steals food off people’s tables. The only people who profit from price fixing are top corporate moguls and a few large shareholders.
Vigorous prosecution of price fixing to bring justice and deter pricefixing schemes in the future is a necessity. The Justice Department is taking a stand in recent indictments against two large chicken companies and top executives. The department should seek the highest possible penalties if a conviction follows and continue to investigate and prosecute price fixing of all kinds.
A good sign of the department’s serious take on this problem is the recent issuance of civil subpoenas to large beef-processing companies for investigation of possible antitrust violations.
Reports of jacked-up meat prices started early during the coronavirus pandemic — but the allegations against the chicken companies show price fixing doesn’t need a pandemic for cover.
Prosecutors say executives of Colorado-based Pilgrim’s Pride and Claxton Poultry Farms in Georgia engaged in a conspiracy to fix prices and manipulate bids for broiler chickens between 2012-17. Among those charged were the president and CEO of Pilgrim’s Pride, Jayson Penn, and Claxton Poultry President Mikell Fries.
Such conspiracies generally start at the top,,and the department did well to take aim at top executives. Incredibly, prosecutors said some of the charged executives texted about their price-fixing moves.
The executives cannot be let off lightly if convicted via trial or guilty pleas. The possible penalties are significant: up to 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
While price fixing may be a white-collar crime of sorts, the impacts on consumers buying groceries and those who work at transporting meats and at grocery stores are real. Grocers face tight margins; when they have to raise prices that margin is cut further. And that means less money for worker benefits and pay.
The department should move forward to investigate price fixing during these pandemic times. Meat prices are skyrocketing. While there have been some disruptions to the supply chain, it would be all too easy for a company to look for cover for a scheme to keep prices high.
The Department of Agriculture should also follow through on its investigation of why ranchers get low prices for their meat when prices at the store are skyrocketing.
Price fixing is fancy talk for a form of theft. Theft from consumers, growers and producers, workers and grocers — large and small. Stamp it out by making it clear that the cost of price fixing isn’t worth the potential penalties.