Eggsacting a price

A typically demented libertarian uses the egg-recall care as an excuse for a predictable and tiresome op-ed in The New York Times about the spread of government power:

Advocates cite the current outbreak, at last report limited to two related Iowa egg farms, as reason to enact pending legislation that would intensify federal regulation of food-making in the name of safety. Large food and agribusiness companies have generally signed off on most of the new proposals as acceptable. Many smaller producers, on the other hand, suspect there will be less room for them, and for local variety generally, in this reassuring new world of business and government cooperation.

Oh, wait, here we go, right on schedule, in that same New York Times:

Now, consumers have been shaken by one of the largest egg recalls ever, involving nearly 550 million eggs from two Iowa producers, after a nationwide outbreak of thousands of cases of salmonella was traced to eggs contaminated with the bacteria.

The F.D.A. has said that if its egg safety rules had gone into effect earlier, the crisis might have been averted. Those rules include regular testing for contamination, cleanliness standards for henhouses and refrigeration requirements, all of which experts say are necessary.

However, many industry experts say the absence of mandatory vaccination greatly weakens the F.D.A. rules, depriving them of a crucial step that could prevent future outbreaks.

In other significant government news, New York is charging an extra tax on bagels that sliced instead of sold whole, and Philadelphia is dtrying to make bloggers get a $300 "local business" license. There's nothing we can think of doing they can't find a way to tax.