The Twentieth Century should have taught us the folly of central planning, yet one country still maintains a government board to control the amount of "tart" cherries on the market in order to ensure that supply meets demand.
What country is foolish enough to still try to centrally plan the tart cherry market? Cuba...North Korea...No the government in question is the United States!
That's right, federal law gives the Cherry Industry Administrative Board (CIAB) the authority to set limits on how many tart cherries can be put on the market.
Fortunately, this board is being challenged by a lawsuit filed by Burnette Foods, a third generation family business. Burentte is a processor of canned tart cherries, which have to reach the consumer promptly. So when the government tells Burnette that they cannot sell their cherries because it does not fit the plan, they lose profits hurting their business, their employees, and their consumers.
Hopefully, Burnette will win its lawsuit and this sad vestige of Soviet New Deal-era central planning will come to an end.
(Hat tip: Reason Magazine.)
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PDFTags: Regulation, central planning