Add your Thanksgiving dinner to the many reasons Wisconsin should repeal its minimum markup law.

The outdated law, which "protects" consumers from lower prices, is gobbling up discounts on turkey dinners this holiday season.

Wal-Mart is advertising whole turkeys for 86 cents a pound in Wisconsin - but just 40 cents a pound in neighboring Illinois, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Canned vegetables are 6 cents more at Wal-Mart stores in Wisconsin than in Illinois. And stuffing is 37 cents a box more expensive here.

As a result, the special Thanksgiving dinner for a family of eight that Wal-Mart is promoting across the country for less than $20 won't include all of the fixings in Wisconsin.

We'll get the turkey, cranberries, vegetables and stuffing. But unlike shoppers in Illinois and other states that don't have minimum markup laws, we won't get potatoes or a $5.50 pumpkin roll cake - even though we're paying the same dinner price.

Blame Wisconsin's minimum markup law. Enacted in 1939, the law was designed to prevent a business from running competitors out of the market by cutting prices temporarily.

But predatory pricing provisions in federal anti-trust law already prohibit retailers from using below-cost pricing to restrict competition.

Wisconsin's law goes beyond that to prevent consumers from enjoying discounts available in other states on a host of items including prescription drugs, school supplies, electronics and - until recently, when a judge struck down part of the state law - gasoline.

Defenders argue the minimum markup law protects mom-and-pop stores. But small shops with less volume will always have a hard time competing on price against giant retailers regardless of state laws.

Instead, successful small businesses succeed by offering better service, convenience, higher quality, niche products and local know-how.

Wisconsin families struggling to get by in a recession should be able to get the same deal on a Thanksgiving dinner as families in Illinois.

Lawmakers should dump Wisconsin's minimum markup law so consumers can enjoy more discounts throughout the year.

Login to post your comment. If you don't have an account, you may register for one.