Beef, Housing and Money for the Blind
The Dept. of Agriculture proposes a ban on so-called “downer” cattle.
The Senate Banking Committee approves a new housing bill.
A federal court rules that paper money discriminates against the blind and must be redesigned.
1. FOOD
The Dept. of Agriculture proposes a ban on so-called “downer” cattle.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Journalism Fellow Lene Johansen on the role the Humane Society played in the latest meat recall:
“The Humane Society had known about [violations of USDA processing procedure] for six weeks, but instead of releasing the data immediately so that USDA could take action, they sat on the exposure until they had enough material for a documentary. They want USDA to ban all so-called downer cattle — cattle that cannot stand at the time of slaughter — from the food supply. The current process is for USDA veterinarians to diagnose the animal to decide if the inability to stand is due to non-pathogen injuries such as torn ligaments or broken legs. The animal has already passed the health inspection before this time.”
2. CONSUMER
The Senate Banking Committee approves a new housing bill.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Center for Entrepreneurship Director John Berlau puts recent foreclosure rates into perspective:
“…the ‘record number of foreclosures’ the media report are meaningless statistics without reference to the ‘record number’ of homeowners in the last few years. Thanks in part to the innovations in lending now under attack, the U.S. homeownership rate has climbed to nearly 70 percent. The overall foreclosure rate for the latest quarter, while increasing over the past year, is still well within historical norms at .58 percent of all mortgages, according to the latest National Delinquency Survey.”
3. LEGAL
A federal court rules that paper money discriminates against the blind and must be redesigned.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Special Projects Counsel Hans Bader on the flaws in the court’s decision:
“The appeals court wrongly gave short shrift to the burden imposed on third parties, suggesting that it did not even need to be considered, even though other federal court rulings recognize that an institution is not required to accommodate a disability or religious practice if doing so would unduly burden third parties… As Judge Randolph noted in dissent, ‘There are approximately 7,000,000 food and beverage vending machines in the United States; by one estimate, it would cost $3.5 billion to retool or replace these machines.’”
Blog feature: For more news and analysis, updated throughout the day, visit CEI’s blog, Open Market.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
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