Federalist Radio Hour Why Government-Run Groceries Will Never Work
Nov 4, 2025
Dr. Anne Rathbone Bradley, an economics professor and VP at The Fund for American Studies, joins to discuss the pitfalls of government-run grocery stores. She highlights historical failures in socialist systems, demonstrating how these programs often lead to shortages and hardship. The conversation reveals the importance of market signals for food abundance and critiques the allure of 'free' benefits. Bradley also examines the impact on small businesses and argues for reducing government dependency while predicting that fiscal realities will temper support for socialism.
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Central Planning Fails To Match Market Coordination
- State-run grocery experiments consistently fail because central planners cannot match market coordination and incentives.
- Historical examples like the Soviet Union, Venezuela, and Cuba show shortages, empty shelves, and collapsing standards of living.
Yeltsin's Supermarket Revelation
- Boris Yeltsin visited U.S. supermarkets and marveled at the abundance compared with Soviet shortages.
- That experience influenced his view of central planning and revealed market-produced variety and availability.
City Budgets Face Real Opportunity Costs
- Governments face real budget constraints and opportunity costs when funding municipal enterprises.
- Subsidizing city groceries diverts funds from other services and risks long-term fiscal harm.