Herb Kohl: “one of the basic tenets upon which this Nation was founded was that there should be no taxation without representation.…”

“one of the basic tenets upon which this Nation was founded was that there should be no taxation without representation. But the dairy farmers of this nation know all too well that taxation without representation continues today. They live with that reality in their businesses every day. Dairy farmers are required to pay a 15 cent tax, in the form of an assessment, on every hundred pounds of milk that they sell. This tax goes to fund dairy promotion activities, such as those conducted by the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board, commonly known as the National Dairy Board. Yet these same farmers that pay hundreds, or in some cases thousands, of dollars every year for these mandatory promotion activities have no direct say over who represents them on that Board. In the summer of 1993, a national referendum was held giving dairy producers the opportunity to vote on whether or not the National Dairy Board should continue.”