No conspiracy. Just this time of the year, they are picked early to fill the big demand. They are artificially ripened (I believe they are put in rooms filled with CO2 or something like that) so they are ripened without a chance for the sugars to build up.
Connecticut law places requirements on the length of time fruit must remain in CA conditions to qualify as CA-certified. Usually the apples go to retail market in late January.
The scary part is that most people think store-bought tomatoes and apples (and who knows what else) are supposed to taste like that...