The latest example of federal overreach comes from the Southeast, where a new federal program offered farmers money to reforest depleted land.
The problem? Now, according to the Wall Street Journal, the growing number of uncut trees is depressing prices and putting pension funds at risk.
“A glut of timber has piled up in the Southeast. There are far more ready-to-cut trees than the region’s mills can saw or pulp. The surfeit has crushed timber prices in Mississippi, Alabama and several other states.”
The loser, as usual, is the American people. According to the Journal,
“The California Public Employees’ Retirement System spent more than $2 billion on Southern timberland, and harvested trees at depressed prices to pay interest on money borrowed to buy. Calpers sold much of its land this summer at a loss. A spokeswoman for the pension fund declined to comment.”
Federal meddling in free markets needs to stop, but bureaucrats in Washington won't give up their power without a fight.
That's why millions have joined the effort to call the first-ever Article V Convention of States. A Convention of States can propose constitutional amendments that limit the power of federal agencies and stop them from making bad situations worse.
Sign the Convention of States Petition below to limit federal agencies!
