@@茶叶蛋炒饭@@ 第十六次作业 ARGUMENT10 请组员跟帖

yeshen2010UID: 2744103

RT

imlifewillingUID: 2706999

by 懒蚂蚁
（39分，533字，最后一段有点像Issue.）
20:15
The editorial argues that the Batavia government should begin to regulate retail milk prices for the reason that the farmers are receiving excessive profits. This conclusion is based on assumptions:(1) there are must be more milk in the market since the number of dairy farms throughout the country has increased 15 percent than it was 10 years ago. (2) because the price has increased twice at the local Excello Food Market, there must be much more profits in the milk industry. However, these two assumptions are unconvincing. What's more, the author claims unjustifiedly that this process would ensure the lower prices and an adequate supply of milk for consumers.

In the first place,though the number of dairy farms has increased dramatically in the past ten years, it is still unconvincing to claim that there are adequate milk in the market. Perhaps in the past ten years the number of people has increased more dramatically. Even with the increased dairy farms, the production of milk might be still insufficient to afford the needs of the people. What's more, maybe the majority of the milk are used to make milk-related products, which might decrease the amounts of milk in the market. So the author's assumption that there may be sufficient milk in the market is unsubstantiated.

In the second place, it is unwarranted that the price of milk at the local Excello Food Market can represent the large profits of milk. On one hand, it cannot represent the nationwide price of milk. Perhaps milk price in other market are lower which make the profits in those areas lower. It is also possible that the increasing of the price is because the production costs of milk has increased, which makes the increase of profit in milk unavailable. So from the statistics of Excello Food Market, it is hard for us to assert that the profit in milk has become excessive.

In the third place, even though the profits in milk have increased, it is still unjustifiable to say that the farmers are getting excessive profits. Perhaps the profits of the other industries are more than the milk industry. What's more, reducing the price of the milk might make the farmers' living conditions become worse. In a word, it is inappropriate to reduce the milk price hastily without considering the farmers' lives.

In the forth place, the author overlooks the facts that the market can regulate the price based on the supply-and-demand principles. If the price is too high, the demand of milk would decrease which results in the increasing of milk price and eventually decrease the price. If the government begins to regulate the retail price, the production of milk would decrease since the farmers can get fewer profits, which will ultimately make the milk insufficient and the price increase. So without considering the market principles, it is impossible to keep the stability of the price and supply of milk.

To sum up, the author's suggestion about regulating the milk price is incredible. In order to make both of farmers and consumers content, the author should make an investigation to illustrate the real profits that the farmers can get, and make a policy that can be accepted by both of them.
20:54