Proof the Free Market Still Exists

Andy Snyder|November 16, 2022

We took a load of lambs to the livestock auction yesterday. What a treat it is… proof that a real economy still exists and that opportunity abounds for those who dare to seek it.

The auction house sits downtown. To get there, we pull our loaded trailer past factories, schools and restaurants until we round the corner. Then, it’s as if the world has changed.

Old men play cards at the corner. Neighbors chat with neighbors. And the new guy from out of state gets a look over… but also a friendly nod and a helping hand.

An occasional bellow from a nearby steer lets us know we’re in the right place.

It’s a rush in the early morning hours. Hundreds of sheep, pigs, cows and horses are unloaded and sorted through pens. Like waves crashing on the beach, the sellers rush in, do their business and then slowly recede… making way for a crash of buyers pulling in with their empty trailers and hopeful attitudes.

Some bring a small pickup… others will load up a semi.

Slowly, the auctions start. First there’s a commotion in one ring… then another… and at the height of it all, animals will be moving through four rings at a time.

Money will be flowing… big money.

We can tell who the serious buyers are. They’re the fellas with blank checks adorned by corporate logos. They fill up the big trucks and work to feed the world.

They sit up front, barely making a peep as they set the price for our food.

This is their job, and they do it well.

Good Livin’

In the back, the good ol’ boys stand by the rail. They watch closely, rarely raising a hand. They’ll say a few quick words to the fella beside them and then go back to watching the board.

In their heads, we know, they’re doing the math – figuring out what their four-legged assets at home are worth. It’s never enough, and they know it.

Still, the living is good, they tell themselves.

“I’m getting older,” we heard one man tell a friend he hadn’t seen in a while. “But I’m happier every day.”

That’s something you don’t hear too often. Perhaps it’s a sign of the conditions… freedom at play.

Somewhere in the middle of the tiny arena, squatted down in dusty chairs, is a young family. There’s always at least one. When times are good, they’re looking to have some fun. When times are tough, they’re looking for some hope to cross that scale.

They’re new to the game, looking to buy something that might make them a buck later… or at least show the kids how the world is run.

They know there’s not much chance, but they hear the living is good.

It’s a market, perhaps a perfect one – efficient as can be. Buyers stand beside sellers, each looking for the finest deal.

There’s no hyperbole from the processors… nobody pumping up the lamb’s hind quarters. There are no tweets, no TV appearances and no non-GAAP figures to stir a bid.

Hope Lives

The only BS in the place clumps to the side of our boot as we shimmy up to the counter to buy a fresh sausage sandwich… the source of which came through the ring this time last week.

We know that someday this place won’t stand. In our head, it’s a race between two powerful forces. A large conglomerate will come in and shake things up… or regulators will step in and shut it down.

Most likely, one will lead to the other.

It’s too unsafe for the little guy, they’ll claim. The doors to the pens will be locked, and the lights will be turned down low. Only the big trucks will grace the parking lot.

We’ve seen it before. Just look around.

But there’s hope… hope for a free and efficient market.

In the auction house, our lambs fetch the high price they deserve. The economy is true. If one buyer doesn’t see a premium, the next guy will.

The stock market once looked this way. And we suppose that if you know where to look and how to find a deal, it still does in many ways.

But the big boys have moved in. The regulators have littered the scene with paperwork and protections.

It’s not so easy to spot who’s cheating who.

The little guy doesn’t get a look over or a helping hand. He gets shouldered by the slick market maker and gets a lousy fill.

It’s a tough place for a fella who’s never been there before.

A bit of honesty and a whiff of purity would go a long way. Folks are trying. We’ve seen the progress.

There’s a rush to decentralize and deregulate. It’ll have its pain. The folks in control will fight hard to keep the lights down low.

But competition deserves its day.

The free market exists. Where it reigns, things are good… very good.

And the sausage sandwich is worth a bid too.