Only Big Government Can Tame Big Meat
The Biden administration’s plan to support smaller beef processors is a good start. But keeping prices in check will require tougher measures against anti-competitive practices.
Fatter prices.
Photographer: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
The Biden administration desperately needs a win on inflation, and cutting the price Americans pay for beef would have an immediate impact on most families.
Yet the prescription unveiled by the White House this week to boost competition in the highly concentrated meat sector, while prudent, won’t make much of a dent on meat prices, at least not for a while. It isn’t likely to help fight inflation, either. No wonder shares of Tyson Foods Inc., a big producer of beef and pork as well as chicken, have risen more than 4% since the plan was announced.