The Sugar Program, the Supreme Court, and the Deficit

Sugar Program

Senators Shaheen (D-NH) and Kirk (R-IL) have introduced a bill to phase out the U.S. sugar program.

Adjunct Scholar Fran Smith commends the senators for recognizing that the program is a costly problem.

“Sugar producers defend the program by bragging that it doesn’t cost the federal government. But their sly defense ignores the estimated $4 billion a year added costs to consumers through a program that guarantees a minimum price to sugar producers, restricts the domestic supply, and sets a quota system for imported sugar, with prohibitively high tariffs above the quota.”

Supreme Court

Liberal pundits have often claimed that this Supreme Court is “pro-business.”

Senior Counsel Hans Bader points out that the recent decision in Thompson v. North American Stainless proves otherwise.

As Ed Whelan notes, the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Thompson v. North American Stainless abrogated ‘all four’ of the federal appeals court rulings on the subject, all of which had ruled in favor of the employer in similar cases. Indeed, the Supreme Court took a more expansive view of workers’ ability to sue businesses than 18 ‘of the 25 appellate judges to address the issue,’ including even ‘Carter and Clinton appointees’ like Judge Diana Murphy, who ‘decided it in favor of the employer.’ This is part of a long line of rulings against employers by the Supreme Court, which is not pro-business at all, contrary to the false claims of many liberal reporters who cover the Supreme Court.”

Deficit

Though Americans complain about the deficit, few are willing to consider overhauling the political system.

Adjunct Scholar Michael Fumento explains how political spending is continuing to spiral out of control.

“The main problem is entitlements. Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid already absorb 40 percent of the budget and grow inexorably without anybody casting a single vote to increase them. Left untouched, they will destroy the country. But earmarks are readily controllable and yet still uncontrolled. Our nation has a spending addiction. And our politicians don’t have the guts to tell the public that no, we can’t have it all. And so we will continue to borrow and the Fed will continue to print money. And at some point, some point soon, it will all come crashing down.”