In the recent letter from Philip Hayes of the American Sugar Alliance, he attempts to explain how the antiquated U.S. Sugar Program saves American jobs and comes at no cost to taxpayers. This is just a bold-faced lie.

The American Enterprise Institute recently published an analysis of the program in its current state, and the numbers are staggering: " The losses to consumers are large in aggregate for the country, in the order of $2.4 to $4 billion."

This program forces good, American jobs to go overseas, like the moving of the popular Lifesavers candy manufacturing to Canada for cheaper sugar.

It's ironic for Mr. Hayes to speak of "slave labor," especially when the largest sugar producers in Florida are accused of the same thing. The only difference being that this occurred on American soil. The Fanjul sugar barons were brought to court for importing inexpensive migrant workers and "modern-day slavery" to work their sugar cane fields. The Fanjuls, as well as other sugar producers, are known to bank-roll any campaign that is willing to vote in their stead, i.e. Congressman Mike Thompson.

Fortunately, there are still members with integrity, and they introduced the Sugar Policy Modernization Act of 2017, which will produce millions of savings per year for consumers everywhere.

The sugar industry has been coddled since the Spanish-American War, and it’s well past time to stop the American people for footing the bill.
 
Nicholas A. Pyle is president of the Independent Bakers' Association, based on Washington, DC.