Progressives across the country are busy selling an “affordability” agenda, but so far, many of their ideas for enacting that agenda are destined to raise rather than lower the cost of living. The latest example comes from New York state, where legislators have introduced legislation that effectively cracks down on price differences between large and small grocery stores. If the law passes, consumers will likely face higher food prices and less money in their wallets.
The grocery discount drama in New York started recently when Mondelez International—which is the producer of snacks such as Oreos, Ritz crackers, Philadelphia cream cheese, Wheat Thins, and more—declared that it was ceasing deliveries to around a thousand independent grocery retailers in New York City. Concerns immediately abounded that a $5.99 package of Oreos could suddenly cost $6.99 in the Big Apple.
Mondelez noted that it was moving to a new distribution model that no longer would include directly delivering to many smaller grocery stores, even as it continued deliveries to larger chain stores. The National Supermarket Association—a trade association representing many of the affected NYC grocers—responded by asserting that Mondelez was violating a federal antitrust law known as the Robinson-Patman Act…