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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.
I have no issue with pork-barrel spending in states like Texas, Nebraska, Kansas, North Dakota.
I like the culture and quality of life in middle-America so what ever the senators can do to prop up the agriculture industry is good with me.
If farmers don't produce enough soy, wheat, corn that leads to inflationary pressure and cause ripple-effects through the economy.
I admit that California agriculture overall is more nutrient dense as opposed to middle-America but Republicans are politically not going to win 54 electoral votes there if they subsidize the crops more.
It is what is what is. There is alot more for Republicans to gain to subsidies to less populated middle-America and Texas than subsidies to California.
Our local Rep, Vicki Hartzler, went on and on about stopping subsidies when she ran the first time. After she was elected, it came out that her farm was getting several hundred thousand in subsidies. As long as politicians profit from them, there will be subsidies.
Our local Rep, Vicki Hartzler, went on and on about stopping subsidies when she ran the first time. After she was elected, it came out that her farm was getting several hundred thousand in subsidies. As long as politicians profit from them, there will be subsidies.
You do know SNAP is @ 80% of the Farm bill right????
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