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Comment by roenxi | Hacker News Reader

Cheap food is a social good. It would be catastrophic if food prices were high. Private enterprise handles food just fine despite substantial logistic challenges. In Australia we had a stern-faced inquiry into why the prices of milk were so low; it was hilarious to watch politicians trying to complain without suggesting anything so radical as raising prices.

The second part of your post is a fine argument and I'm not complaining about that, but "it's okay to recognize something is a social good" is not fine. It is likely everybody in this thread thinks a cheap, great logistic system is desirable. No impugning of motives, thank you very much.

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There are billions of dollars in Government subsidies sprinkled all throughout the food production and distribution system.

There are food stamps and government grants to private charities charities. And there people who donate millions of hours to food distribution to the poor and vulnerable.

Private businesses do not handle food distribution just fine.

> Private enterprise handles food just fine

This is not the case in the US where millions of people don't have convenient access to food.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert

Well, then take a more reasonable country like Germany. They have a private food supply without food deserts.

Population density: 240 per Km2 (Germany) vs 40.015/km2 (Contiguous U.S.)

While there are no doubt significant benefits for the U.S. to attain looking at models for how other countries handle the distributive logistics of various industries, I would argue that the vastly different population densities of the two nations should be assumed to be material, unless and until robust arguments with strong evidence show otherwise.

>According to research conducted by Tulane University in 2009, 2.3 million Americans lived more than one mile away from a super market and did not own a car.

0.7 percent of the population isn't too bad.

> Private enterprise handles food just fine despite substantial logistic challenges.

I don't know about Australia, but in the US food is propped up by massive taxpayer subsidy and relies on an undocumented immigrant workforce paid low wages with no recourse against employer abuse.

The massive subsidies line the pockets of land owners. They don't make food cheaper.

In addition to the subsidies, they also have tariffs on many foods. Those definitely don't lower food prices.

> It is likely everybody in this thread thinks a cheap, great logistic system is desirable.

The guy I responded to later advocated for privatization of roads.

I'm perfectly fine with impugning the motives of a person who has arrived at that being a sane policy decision. Before that? I'm perfectly fine with impugning the motives of a person who believes it's okay to privatize the means of voting for an entire state.

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