FREEZING OUT THE COMPETITION …
So get this … there is such a thing as alcohol-infused ice cream. No really. You can buy ice cream with alcohol in it.
And to think we just wrote a column entitled “American Un-Exceptionalism.”
Clearly we spoke too soon … and clearly our founding editor, Will Folks, quit drinking too soon.
Anyway, it turns out this most creative of confections is not immune from the long arm of the administrative state (or to put it more accurately, the crony capitalists controlling the administrative state’s regulatory weaponry).
As our friends at NetRightDaily recently noted, a regulatory jihad against a South Carolina-based company is currently in full force – a jihad which “illustrates the pervasive influence of crony capitalism and the dangers of running a business without political protection.”
From reporter Peter Hong’s excellent treatment of this issue …
JB’s Proof produces various flavors of frozen ice cream with alcohol frozen into the product. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has extended its regulatory grasp against the company, alleging that its ice cream should be classified as an alcoholic “beverage” and subject to TTB’s permit requirements The allegation seems odd – even ridiculous – on its face, given that the ice cream is neither sold nor packaged in a liquid form and therefore cannot constitute anything resembling a “beverage.”
The TTB further alleges that JB’s Proof – an ice cream producer – register and seek permission to qualify as a “distilled spirits plant,” even though it does not produce a drinkable product.
Trivia question: when is frozen food considered a “beverage?” Answer: when the federal administrative state says it is.
To add to the absurd overreach of its action, the TTB has threatened criminal and monetary penalties against the company unless it complies with this regulatory edict. Since receiving notice of the TTB’s action, JB’s Proof has shut down all production, social media and marketing, and regular day to day operations.
Taken into isolation, the federal assault against JB’s Proof would be bad enough – one more example of the administrative state bullying yet another small business.
Of course the government’s assault on this company didn’t take place “in isolation.”
There’s a flip side to the coin. Specifically, Mercer’s Dairy – a company located in Upstate New York that makes wine-infused ice cream. Mercer’s Dairy has close ties to former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. In fact the company’s co-owner – a self-proclaimed “former Republican” – appeared in one of Clinton’s 2016 television advertisements.
Unlike JB’s Proof, the TTB has decided to classify Mercer’s wine-infused ice cream as a “food product,” not a “beverage,” meaning the company does not have to abide by the agency’s permitting requirements.
Where’s the fairness in that? Don’t bother looking … there is none.
It breaks down thusly: One politically connected company is producing something with the government’s seal of approval. Another company making the same product – one without political connections – is being terrorized by government.
That is inherently anti-American, people.
“The radically inequitable treatment of players in the marketplace is just one of the dangerous by-products of crony capitalism and the burgeoning administrative state that perpetuates it,” Hong concluded.
We couldn’t have said it better … now let’s just hope the long-overdue war currently being waged on the regulatory state addresses such inequities.
Banner via JB’s Proof