Sean Dengler.

A couple weeks ago, the government made some last-minute attempts at fighting for the people and not large corporations. It is evident when large corporations regulate society it leads to disastrous effects. Look no further than the constant climb of egg prices. Putting more egg laying hens in less buildings has taken out the resiliency in this system. When the avian bird flu comes through, more chickens are put down, leading to higher prices.

It is imperative to spread these hens out across the landscape and let more farmers have another income stream. This builds resiliency and puts more money in farmers’ pockets. The rising price of eggs is a symptom of this ever-consolidating system. The largest 10 egg laying companies control 53% of national egg sales as of 2020 according to Farm Action and between 1900 and 1999, the number of US farms producing eggs dropped from five million to under 1,000.

These large egg producers also made interesting choices. After the avian flu outbreak of 2023, egg-laying hens recovered from the losses at less than one-third of the pace it recovered from the (relatively more severe) avian flu outbreak of 2015, according to Farm Action. This means the large egg producers could have rebuilt the herd at a faster pace, but they chose not to. This led to higher prices for a longer time due to this lack of competition.

This is not the only agriculture sector where market abuse has supposedly happened. One of the last acts of the Federal Trade Commission under the Biden Administration was to sue Deere & Company. Deere is accused of using unfair practices to drive up equipment repair costs for farmers while also depriving farmers of the ability to make timely repairs on critical farming equipment. This has limited the ability of farmers and independent repair providers to repair Deere equipment, forcing farmers to rely on Deere’s authorized dealer network.

The FTC also looked out for citizens in another part of the economy. Using my favorite law, the Robinson-Patman Act, the FTC claims Pepsi’s unfair practices inflated prices for American families while denying competing retailers the ability to compete. Retailers ranging from large grocery chains to independent, local convenience stores, who competed against one of Pepsi’s big box retailer customers, do not enjoy the same benefits and advantages, such as promotional payments as the big box retailer enjoys.

In local news, the parent company of KWWL, Allen Media Group, announced they are laying off all their meteorologists. Other stations owned by this business are also eliminating their meteorologists. The plan is for these stations to use meteorologists located in Atlanta at The Weather Channel. While a cost savings opportunity, this is horrible during severe weather events. These meteorologists play a role in the community and this fabric will be ripped apart. For the sake of the bottom line, citizens will suffer due to the rolling up of stations by Allen Media Group.

Promoting competition and preventing large companies impacting local companies is important to society and the economy. When large businesses go unchecked, egg prices, equipment repair costs, pop prices, and local weather news negatively impact citizens. The groundwork was laid by the Biden Administration – though right to repair dates to the first Trump Administration – for the current Trump Administration to seize on this issue and fight for the people. This is not a foreign tradition. This is a tradition which existed from the 1930s to the 1980s. When healthy competition is promoted, it leads to better outcomes for the economy and society. For Americans to succeed, we need to have a fair shot.

Sean Dengler is a writer, comedian, farmer, and host of the Pandaring Talk podcast who grew up on a farm between Traer and Dysart. You can reach him at sean.h.dengler@gmail.com.