Obama USDA to Examine Consolidation in Agriculture

Does the Obama Administration read the Madville Times? Does a bear make Number Two in the woods?

Evidence: last week I post on the role of antitrust regulation in boosting the economy through job creation. This week the Obama administration launches a series of workshops examining the concentration of economic power in rural America:

A newly invigorated antitrust team in Washington is behind the hearings.

Christine Varney, head of the Justice Department's antitrust division, came into office last spring complaining that regulators have been too slow to file cases and that the Bush administration's guidelines on enforcement had fostered "extreme hesitancy" in the department.

In a troubled economy where food costs are pinching consumers, Varney said agriculture will be a top priority.

"We've seen a lot of consolidation in the industry in the past decade," she said. "Any time you have a lot of concentration in any part of the market, or any part of a vertical chain, it merits looking at" [Christopher Leonard, "Federal Regulators Launch Probe of Big Agriculture," AP via Yahoo News, 2010.03.08].

Looks like I'd better hurry up and finish Jon Lauck's book on the ag monopoly problem (before Lauck's new book comes out!)

Now if I could just get the Obama Administration to pay attention to the Madville Times on health care and the Fourth Amendment, we'd be set!