Word: surplus
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...problem is now becoming acute because storage space, which the Agriculture Department leases from private companies, is growing scarce. Moreover, once acquired by the Government, the surplus food becomes exceedingly difficult to get rid of. Social welfare programs such as subsidized school lunches and foreign aid absorb only a small fraction of what the U.S. buys each day. The U.S. could easily sell some of the rest abroad, but only at a discount. The 95? per lb. that the Government pays for dry milk, for example, is almost 70? higher than the price on world markets. Moreover, any markdown could...
Like most Government programs, the surplus dairy supports began for sound reasons. Because cows give more milk in spring than in winter, dairy farmers have always had trouble tailoring milk supplies to fit demand. In 1949 Congress passed a law obligating the Government to buy all surplus milk, which it does in the form of butter, cheese and dry milk. The idea was to keep the goods in storage during peak production periods, and then sell them back to distributors later in the year when production dropped off. The program gave farmers a steadier income while stabilizing the year-round...
...force frustrating efforts to keep the system in check has been the lobbying expertise of the milk producers, who have consistently fought reform. Their biggest gains have come from passage of a 1977 amendment that has boosted the minimum price that the Agriculture Department is required to pay for surplus dairy goods from 75% of parity to 80%. The amendment further requires the Government to readjust support prices twice a year to keep pace with inflation. Result: even at 80% of parity, the U.S. now pays $1.50 per Ib. for butter, 50? more than the world wholesale price...
...Minneapolis, have figured out another way to milk the program. There is a loyal consumer market for aged Cheddar cheese, which has a sharper taste than new Cheddar. Since storing the cheese would tie up the companies' capital, companies sell the cheese to the Government as a surplus dairy product, at anywhere from $1.36 to $1.39 per Ib., then buy it back at only a 10% markup six months or so later when the cheese is ready for market. The arrangement sticks the Government with the storage and transportation costs...
...drug's main port of entry is Miami. By no coincidence, the Miami branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta is the only branch bank in the U.S. Reserve system to show a cash surplus-$4.75 billion worth in 1980. A likely explanation: laundered cash from drugs...