Farmers threatened to block traffic on major roads in Greece on Monday to demand full payment of subsidies they are entitled to and better prices for their produce.
The farmers announced the planned protest Sunday after meeting with a minister in Greece’s government, which is trying to pull the country’s economy out of its worst debt crisis in decades. (AP)
(Read more from ynetnews.com)
Learn to recognize coercion. This example is what Frederic Bastiat called “rent seeking.” Rather than rely on the voluntary exchange of goods and services, these farmers seek to acquire wealth by bending for forceful hand of government. They demand subsidies. Subsidies are monies taken from the public by force or threat of force and redistributed.
They make everyone poorer. By keeping the money in private hands, new industries would emerge; industries which produce things society voluntarily consumes. Instead, society is forced to buy over-priced milk.
Other countries are also hurt by this. Perhaps some poorer nation can produce very inexpensive milk. When government subsidizes local milk (or restricts trade via tariffs), the economies of foreign nations are hurt. This is wonderful for statists. Not only do they get to redistribute wealth from the public to the milk farmers, but now they have reason to take more wealth from the public and spend it on foreign aid, all the while proving their benevolence.