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We always hear about how bad government handouts are from conservatives. But when you look at farm subsidies, which are simply government handouts to guarantee a rate of return for farming businesses, they have no problem with taking it in. Besides taking in government handouts going against their anti-govt stance, the handouts also undercut their favored economic system, capitalism, by providing guaranteed rates of return and eliminating the need to compete in a free market.
In 2017, the 10 states receiving the most farm subsidies were:
The state producing the most overall food in America? California, producing more than half of all fruits, vegetables, and nuts, while also being top producer of milk and the #4 producer of beef.
Conservatives are all too happy to bash any form of government handout, and are regularly talking about or putting together bills to cut government handouts. But when it comes to farm subsidies, they always want to kick the can down the road because they know taking government handouts away from red states would create major backlash and threaten their stronghold in the heartland.
Whats worse is that the majority of crops produced in the heartland are government subsidized and genetically modified corn, soybeans and wheat. A lot of what is produced taste horrible because it isn't grown to be eaten directly, but to be processed into ingredients for junk food (you can think of high fructose corn syrup as welfare sugar), ethanol, and non-food products. We also provide 40% of the world's corn supply, using taxpayer dollars to produce exports to other countries.
When you purchase food made cheaper by subsidy crops, you are essentially participating in a government welfare program, choosing cheaper foods due to government handouts over more expensive products produced in a free market manner. That includes eating beef fattened up by cheap corn and sweetened products that use high fructose corn syrup.
The next time you hear someone saying that the heartland feeds the nation, remember they rake in the most government subsidies and still don't produce anywhere near as much food as California.
All of those states, like all other states, are in debt. Since when is increased spending a conservative ideal?
btw Thats the Federal government that you love which is doing it. Put the power into the states like the founders intended.
We always hear about how bad government handouts are from conservatives. But when you look at farm subsidies, which are simply government handouts to guarantee a rate of return for farming businesses, they have no problem with taking it in. Besides taking in government handouts going against their anti-govt stance, the handouts also undercut their favored economic system, capitalism, by providing guaranteed rates of return and eliminating the need to compete in a free market.
What farming subsidies guarantee is stability in the food market for both supply and prices which is a benefit to everyone. A farmer is at the mercy of Mother Nature and unlike most business's cannot predict what the value of his/her product will be when it's time to sell. If they plant too little and there is poor growing season they have a high value product but very little to sell. If they plant too much and have excellent growing season they have plenty of product to sell but it has little or no value. The subsidies allow them to overplant insuring an adequate food supply and low prices for consumers. Without the subsidies they plant less and you will have wild swings in food availability and prices. This of course would effect low income families the most.
Why do you hate the poor?
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