Central planning is like a washing machine cycle that never ends:
Step 1: Subsidize production.
Step 2: When production exceeds consumer demand, subsidize the losses.
Step 3: When the losses become terminal, pay producers to exit the industry.
Step 4: When prices rise, go back to Step 1.
The first stage of the production-cut program is voluntary. Those that agree to participate must leave the industry for a minimum of five years. Two-thirds of the cost will be covered by Farm Income Stabilization Insurance, a taxpayer-funded provincial program that, when market prices are low, covers the costs of production. One-third will be paid by Les Éleveurs de porcs du Québec.
This will mean that every producer who remains in the sector must pay $2.86 to the union for every hog they sell, to cover producers’ share of the expense, according to reporting by La Presse. The pool of cash will be used to pay producers who leave.
“We understand we need the taxpayer helping us‚ but at the same time we bring lots of money, too,” Mr. Roy said.


