Smaller = ineffective

In 2003, a drought made it difficult for ranchers to afford to keep their livestock. In response to this situation, the federal government released stockpiles of powdered milk to the ranchers, in order to help offset their costs.

This was a good thing.

The problem lied, however, in the methodolgy used to distribute the milk. The federal government released an allotment to each state. It also put a few restrictions on its use. It then wiped its hands clean of the situation, providing no assistance in enforcing these restrictions. One of those restrictions capped the quantity that may be sold to middle-men and feed brokers. Another forbade any quantity of stockpiled milk from being exported outside the U.S.

It should be no surprise that chaos ensued. States were unable to enforce the restrictions themselves, and the milk was limitlessly sold and re-sold through various brokers. Suddenly, mills were wondering why they were repackaging U.S. government powdered milk in packages with Spanish labeling.

When you reduce the size and role of the federal government, laws are bound to be ignored, let alone broken. This fiasco reminds me, in a sense, of the kinds of things we hear about in places like Somalia and Ethiopia - where shipments of food are "hijacked" and "redistributed" by the local militia, as opposed to otherwise-authorized aid associations or the local/national government itself - when, of course, the local militia isn't itself the government.

This is proof that, when you leave people to their own devices, telling them what they can and cannot do without making sure that they actually obey the rules, they will do whatever they damn well please.