rkaiser said:
Is it an "evil act" to plan to MAKE MONEY off the backs of those who supply you with product MRJ?
Packer and corporate basher is not such a bad name. I think that I can deal with that one.
Of course it isn't an evil act to plan to make money by purchasing cattle from someone and adding value to them and selling them, whether it is any of the minor or major packers or Randy Kaiser, WHEN ONE ACTS LEGALLY IN DOING SO.
Do you ALWAYS give the "other guy" the benefit, or do you drive a hard bargain when buying or selling the inputs you need for your business? Do you force anyone to accept what you want to pay them, or do you mutually agree on a price? Or do you always buy at auction (some claim it is the ONLY honest place to buy/sell cattle)?
Re. your 'motto' of "Who do you what (you did intend to type "want" rather than "what", didn't you?) to help out of this jam we call the Beef Industry, Grassroots Producer or Multinational Packers?" Why do we "want to help" anyone? Out of the goodness of our hearts? That is charity, isn't it? Are you running a charity, or a business? If our business makes money in excess of our necessities, charity is a fine thing and a blessing to giver and receiver alike. IF you pay fair prices to all from whom you buy your business needs, rather than the going market rate, good for you! Hopefully, that indicates you are making plenty of money on your sales. If it doesn't, you won't be in business for long, will you? Unless you have another source of income, of course. That could change the picture. My point: "fair" isn't always attainable in prices for a product, nor even in wages. It has to be based upon value and what the market will return, IMO.
MRJ