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Aren't they just a waste of our tax dollars? Don't they also interfer with free trade by hurting farmers in poor countries who can't compete with America's cheaper subsidized products?
Today government financial support for farmers amounts to less than 1% of average farm income across New Zealand. And most farmers are thriving without the subsidies.
The simple answer is, food is power. It's currency. The more of it you produce the cheaper it is and the more society can spend on other things. Moreover, if you can produce it on a massive scale, then you can manipulate other nations' resource allocations and their export power. Just ask staple farmers in developing nations who have no export market for their goods because they can't compete with U.S. subsidized grain.
Aren't they just a waste of our tax dollars? Don't they also interfer with free trade by hurting farmers in poor countries who can't compete with America's cheaper subsidized products?
Yes and yes. It's because many in government want to control everything about our lives. Farm subsidies are just another way for government to expand power and control our lives.
Location: On the "Left Coast", somewhere in "the Land of Fruits & Nuts"
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Agreed, they should be totally eliminated. Of course whaddaya bet in the upcoming battle over the Federal Budget and setting new limits for the deficit, that this'll be one area of "Government Spending" the GOP doesn't want to "cut", including the rest of the over $125 billion a year in "corporate welfare" (equivalent to nearly two weekly paychecks from every working man and woman in America).
Farm subsidies are in place to prevent a major commodities surplus, a problem this country faced dozens of times between the 1930s and the early 1980s. Ultimately, a crop surplus hurts all farmers across the board, and does far more monetary damage in the form of insurance payments and other safety nets than the annual cost of farm subsidies.
However, the population of Earth has soared exponentially since the 80s, and since then there has been enough global demand to prevent a food surplus. Anyone who has ever farmed knows that subsidies are a rather poor source of income, because you can make many times the amount by actually growing crops. This is why farm subsidies do very little for your family farmers or even mid-sized growers. Instead, subsidies generally go to corporations or other large landholders with no interest in growing any crops to begin with.
Seeing as even with farm subsidies commodities surpluses have occurred quite regularly in the past, I would be interested in hearing some alternative plans.. Until then, expect subsidies to remain indefinitely.
Yes and yes. It's because many in government want to control everything about our lives. Farm subsidies are just another way for government to expand power and control our lives.
All farm subsidies should be eliminated.
I'm not going to argue against that but I wonder if people truly understand the extent to which farm subsidies are intertwined with the everyday lives of many Americans.
Do you fill up with gas that has ethanol or use energy produced by biofuels? There's a farm subsidy.
Do you have children who eat at schools where the food is federally funded? There's a farm subsidy.
Are you or do you know anyone on food stamps? There's a farm subsidy.
Do you farm or know a farmer who has crop insurance? There's a farm subsidy (single payer too!...you, the taxpayer)
Do you know of minority farmers/farm owners? There's a farm subsidy.
Can you name a major corporation that farms/delivers&packages the food in your grocery store? There's a farm subsidy (most likely).
Disclosure: In 70+ years of having a family farm we never participated in any form of farm subsidies, not even crop insurance, disaster relieve, crp, or conservation programs. Don't ever intend to start either!
It's nothing but republican welfare to get the poor/rural vote.
So you think the rural poor get those farm subsidies ?
ROFL...boy are you off by miles.
If you are looking for those receiving the big farm subsidies try looking at some mansions in California or penthouses in NYC.
Yes, most of it is corporate welfare for rich owners of farmland and commercial operations.
What does the farm bill mean to rural folks who work their own land ?
Tons of paperwork, trips to the county, more paperwork and then cross your fingers that maybe, just maybe the government will help you with a grant that still won't cover the cost of what you want to do.
http://www.bipps.org/article.php/2377 (broken link)
"And the prize for the largest receiver of tax-payer dollars in 2009 goes to . . . D L Robey Farm of Adairville. Even with annual sales of $2.5 million to $5 million Robey was able to milk the government for $404,000 in farm subsidies."
Farm subsidies are in place to prevent a major commodities surplus, a problem this country faced dozens of times between the 1930s and the early 1980s. Ultimately, a crop surplus hurts all farmers across the board, and does far more monetary damage in the form of insurance payments and other safety nets than the annual cost of farm subsidies.
However, the population of Earth has soared exponentially since the 80s, and since then there has been enough global demand to prevent a food surplus. Anyone who has ever farmed knows that subsidies are a rather poor source of income, because you can make many times the amount by actually growing crops. This is why farm subsidies do very little for your family farmers or even mid-sized growers. Instead, subsidies generally go to corporations or other large landholders with no interest in growing any crops to begin with.
Seeing as even with farm subsidies commodities surpluses have occurred quite regularly in the past, I would be interested in hearing some alternative plans.. Until then, expect subsidies to remain indefinitely.
62 percent of farmers in United States did not collect subsidy payments - according to USDA.
Ten percent collected 74 percent of all subsidies. Amounting to $157.7 billion over 15 years.
Top 10%: $29,658 average per year between 1995 and 2009. Bottom 80%: $572 average per year between 1995 and 2009.
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