What do Christmas tree growers have in common with producers of beef, blueberries, cotton, milk, eggs, avocados, honey, lamb, mangoes, mushrooms, peanuts, popcorn, pork, potatoes, soybeans, and watermelons? They are all well-organized, agricultural special interest groups that have lobbied the Department of Agriculture to impose taxes or fees on their products (and raise prices to consumers) to fund the marketing and promotion of their products to the public.
The Christmas tree growers’ efforts to use the federal government’s coercive power of taxation to benefit their industry had to be postponed last week due to public pushback about higher taxes and the display of blatant crony capitalism. Maybe it’s time for some public outrage (OWS protestors?) over the corporate welfare bestowed on "Big Farm" for producing blueberries, avocados, peanuts, etc.
See related: 1) WSJ editorial "About That 'Christmas Tree Tax': The real story is a case of business and government collusion," and 2) Heritage Foundation post "Agricultural Marketing Fees: Not Just for Christmas Trees" (HT: Matt B.).
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