The “Make America Great Again” movement says it’s all about stopping corruption and “draining the swamp.” But some Republican governors are pursuing their own “swampy” crony capitalism — just MAGA-branded, this time.
They’re shamelessly setting aside all that pesky past rhetoric about free-market capitalism and limited government to pass sweeping state-level bans on lab-grown meat products, which are made via new technology where meat is grown in labs and no animals are slaughtered. Republican Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte is the latest governor to sign such a ban on this agricultural innovation. The legislation he just signed not only threatens the license of any retail business that sells these products, but also threatens their owners with jail time and fines.
“If you’ve ever had the pleasure of enjoying a cut of Montana beef, you know there is no substitute,” Gianforte said. “By signing House Bill 401 into law, I am proud to defend our way of life and the hardworking Montana ranchers who produce the best beef in the world.”
Everything about this is absurd, contradictory, and corrupt.
First, there’s one glaring omission from Gianforte’s statement: any allegation that these lab-grown meat products are unsafe. Most Americans agree that it is reasonable for the government to step in and keep dangerous or unsafe products off the market. But the Food and Drug Administration has approved numerous lab-grown meat products, and if products can meet its strict safety standards, state governments have no business keeping them off the shelves rather than letting consumers decide.
After all, there are plenty of good reasons one might want to try lab-grown meat. Some people are concerned about climate change and the carbon emissions associated with traditional meat production. Others, myself included, are meat lovers but are nonetheless horrified by the cruelty often associated with traditional meat production and love the idea of a cruelty-free alternative.
To be clear, no one has to try it! If you don’t like the taste of lab-grown meat or are weirded out by the idea, then you simply don’t have to buy it. Yet absent legitimate safety concerns, there’s no good reason for the government to take away consumers’ choices and micromanage their dietary decisions. Unfortunately, the real motivation here is much more corrupt.
Gianforte openly brags that he is doing this to “defend our … hardworking Montana ranchers.” Translation: He is doing this to protect the cattle ranching industry, whose political support he wants, from competition. Gianforte is simultaneously arguing that Montana ranchers produce “the best beef in the world” but also that they can’t handle a fledgling form of competition without being existentially threatened. Which is it?
Importantly, by restricting competition, Gianforte is also “protecting” Montana consumers from lower prices. When there are more possible options and alternatives, businesses are forced to compete to entice customers with lower prices. But when competitors are blocked by law, incumbent businesses can keep prices higher. And, in the future, lab-grown meat technology could evolve to the point where an expensive steak can be produced much more cheaply and thus sold at lower prices.
TARIFF POLITICS YIELD CRONY CAPITALISM
The governor is making all this possible progress illegal to protect a special interest group. How, exactly, is that making America great again? In fact, how is it anything other than corrupt and anti-capitalist?
Republicans used to espouse values such as limited government, individualism, and free-market capitalism, even if they routinely failed to live up to those principles. But it’s increasingly unclear what, exactly, the new Republican Party stands for these days. To some extent, Republicans’ positions seem to simply blow with the culture war tides, and conveniently align with the whims of the same kinds of special interests the MAGA movement is supposed to oppose.
Brad Polumbo is an independent journalist and host of the Brad vs Everyone podcast.