Hersheys - the Candy Man - is a BIG business. Its May 2014 market cap was $23.26 billion.
And Hersheys is very generous with government. Through the second quarter of last year it had spent $8332000 on lobbying and $845534 on candidates and elected officials. Tallies no Mom & Pop Candy Shoppe can come close to matching.
Greasing the government to grant you special favors - or impose upon your competitors special impediments - is Crony Socialism. It isnt Crony Capitalism - because it has nothing to do with capitalism.
This anti-free market practice is best practiced by big businesses - like Hersheys. Small businesses dont have the wherewithal to bribe politicians - excuse me contribute - with enough umph.
But campaign contributions arent the problem - Huge Government is. If the government wasnt so gi-normous - and didnt wield such a massive checkbook and regulatory hammer - just about all of the Crony Socialist donations would dry up and go away.
Lobbying isnt the problem either. Lobbying to keep government off of you is Constitutional redress of grievances. Lobbying to sic the government on others is anti-Constitutional obnoxiousness.
And having Huge Government in your back pocket allows you to negotiate" private sector agreements" you otherwise would never ever get. If they know you can unleash the Leviathan - you rarely have to unleash the Leviathan. Having a Big Brother means almost never actually getting into a fight.
So when we read Big Candy Hershey did this:
After a Deal British Chocolates Wont Cross the Pond
We have to wonder how free both sides were to deal." When is an agreement actually an acquiescence? A capitulation? After all Lets Buy British Imports (LBB) - the other side of this deal" - aint anywhere near Hersheys King Size.
Jeff Beckman a representative for Hersheys said L.B.B. and others were importing products not intended for sale in the United States….
Says who? Why cant they be intended for sale here? Because Hersheys says so? In fact they were sold here - for quite a while.
Another retailer of British goods who wished to remain anonymous because she feared reprisal from Hersheys said she imagined she would go out of business soon.
Cadburys is about half of my business" she said while eating leftover Cadburys Christmas chocolate and more than that at Christmas. I dont know how well survive."
What problem does Hershey claim exists?
L.B.B. agreed this week to stop importing all Cadburys chocolate made overseas. The company also agreed to halt imports on KitKat bars made in Britain; Toffee Crisps which because of their orange packaging and yellow-lined brown script too closely resemble Reeses Peanut Butter Cups; Yorkie chocolate bars which infringe on the York peppermint patty; and…Maltesers….
Jeff Beckman a representative for Hersheys said L.B.B. and others were…infringing on its trademark and trade dress licensing. For example Hersheys has a licensing agreement to manufacture Cadburys chocolate in the United States with similar packaging used overseas though with a different recipe.
Okay the Cadbury licensing agreement I get. If Hersheys cut a deal to be the U.S. manufacturer - albeit with different recipes - thats the deal. Though again they are the Candy Titans - and can cut deals" most others cant.
And British and U.S. KitKat are nearly identical in content and presentation. Get that too.
But orange and yellow packaging? The British bar in said wrapping is the Toffee Crisp - Hersheys the Reeses Peanut Butter Cup. At some point caveat emptor has to reign. The fact that the names of the bars - and the ingredients - are totally different should be more than enough.
The British Yorkie isnt peppermint - Hersheys York Peppermint Pattie is. Id be more concerned with the Old Countrys version if I were the American Kennel Club.
Maltesers are chocolate malt balls - a competitor to Hersheys Whoppers. Maltesers have no packaging or name similarities - its just Big Bad Hersheys Whopper competitor. And thus it too is blocked.
Free markets are great. Free trade is great.
This is neither - and it is lousy.