There is growing concern over the rising cost of food and today on Capitol Hill the Joint Economic Committee
will be hearing from experts as to the causes.
The hearing of the Joint Economic Committee, which [Sen. Charles] Schumer heads, will be the first to examine the domestic effects of food shortages. It comes on the heels of an announcement yesterday by the U.N. secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, of a task force aimed at averting "social unrest at an unprecedented scale" due to a food crisis. Soaring food prices have already sparked riots in some countries.
In America, prices for goods such as bread, flour, and eggs have risen for months, prompting outcries from consumers already worried about a slowing economy.
One obvious cause of higher food prices is the rapid increase in the price of oil since the current majority took control of Congress. Despite assurances two years ago that they had a “commonsense plan” to deal with rising oil prices, the situation has gotten much, much worse. That’s because there is not – and does not appear to ever have been – any “plan.”
Meanwhile, in New Jersey, liberal politicians have come up with a novel way of dealing with higher food prices – they are considering a so-called “sin” tax on fast foods. A New Jersey CBS affiliate reports:
The sputtering economy has caused an increase in prices of many staples including gasoline, rice, ice cream, even beer. Now some lawmakers in New Jersey are considering taking food taxes a step further and installing a proverbial "sin" tax on fast food.
Yes, the idea of marking up your favorite fast food burger or pack of fries is actually being tossed around, and it's not settling well with many residents.
"They're taxing everything. Now you're gonna tax fast food? That's crazy," said Newark resident Miriam Robertson.
Added Livingston resident Tina Abrahamian: "No one wants to be taxed. I mean, it's a necessity to eat and people need to eat and with everything skyrocketing, that's the last thing we want to tax."
The thought of taxing a Big Mac or a Wendy's burger came up at a New Jersey Hospital Association meeting where Gov. Jon S. Corzine was asked if it could be an option to help fund struggling hospitals. At the meeting, he reportedly called it a "constructive suggestion."
Besides leaving Americans with fewer dollars to spend, save, or invest, higher taxes distort markets and make them less efficient. So why is it liberals always view tax hikes as “constructive” when in economic terms they are destructive?