Bribery scheme adding to high food prices?
I do most of the grocery shopping for the family, so like everyone else, I’ve been wide-eyed at the steep increase in food prices. I’ve heard a lot about rising fuel prices, credit crunches, and inflation as part of the talking heads’ various explanations for the whys of it all.
I almost missed this piece on a federal lawsuit against a vegetable processor, SK Foods, that alleges that SK bribed purchasing agents at various food companies to keep SK’s prices high. If it’s true, some big companies like Safeway, Heinz, Kraft, were getting bribes to inflate prices on SK’s goods.
Nothing like graft, corruption and bribery to add to the cost of living. I couldn’t resist the urge to check in with my good friends at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. They’re the ones that keep screaming about “lawsuit abuse” as the great drag on the American economy. Of course, they don’t seem to discuss this lawsuit as an example of “lawsuit abuse.” In fact, they don’t talk about bribery at all. I suppose in the Chamber’s world, the government shouldn’t bring lawsuits to address bribery and corruption by large corporations.
David Sugerman
Tags: bribery, federal lawsuit, food prices, sugerman