Posted on 12/08/2011 9:42:12 AM PST by socialism_stinX
CHICAGO - For the first time in 25 years, Minnesota farmer Dean Tofteland has missed his deadline to buy seed for next spring's corn and soybean crops.
With $200,000 of his money yet to be returned from the accounts of MF Global, his former broker, the 49-year-old farmer has missed a $5,000 discount for early buyers, and is watching friends and neighbors snap up the best varieties of seeds.
In the latest sign of how MF Global's failure is continuing to cascade across the commodity industry, Tofteland and other farmers who have yet to recover more than a third of their money from the bankrupt broker now find themselves in a cash crunch that risks rippling far beyond the futures market.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
Congressional Republicans should introduce legislation to authorize a low-cost loan program (with a 0.5% interest rate) for farmers who have significant amounts of money frozen at MF Global. This loan program would finance purchases of seed and other supplies that farmers need immediately to produce next year's food supply. This program would be an all-around political winner for the GOP and would certainly receive bi-partisan support.
As a nation, we need to limit the damage from MF Global's collapse right now and prevent that damage from spreading into food inflation. The GOP needs to move on this right now, if they haven't already introduced this legislation.
John Corzine: the Poster Child for Global Starvation
Are you serious?
Just part of the Plan, first you make everybody dependent, for housing and medical care, Now you control ALL THE FOOD AND WATER THEY NEED TO SURVIVE. Just a matter of time til they reintroduce the Farm Bill making it a FELONY to GROW YOUR OWN FOOD. Yes there is a Bill that does this and it has been introduced quite a few times and loses by one or two votes only in committee.
Who is John Galt?? Me, anyday now.
“watching friends and neighbors snatch up the best varieties of seeds” probaly answers your question.
$200,000? Ouch! But his money is gone and it’s not coming back, at least not to him.
I agree, but what good is it going to do for the GOP Congress to act on this when Dirty Harry will just sit on any and all bills submitted to the Senate for approval? It’s not like the DemocRats WANT Americans to have enough food produced locally.
Just sayin....
Congressional Republicans should introduce legislation to authorize a low-cost loan program\
Yes, I’m serious. The collapse of MF Global could potentially have a significant impact on US food production next year. The Agriculture Dept. could start up a low-cost government loan program in just a few weeks. They don’t need to set up a new system. Instead, they can just pay a small fee to Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase to administer the program. The only real administrative effort by the Agriculture Dept. would be verifying that farmers have a significant amount of money frozen at MF Global. The rest of it is simple and inexpensive—just electrons moving around in bankers’ computers, and the benefits to America in lower food costs could be substantial.
It’s not necessarily an anecdotal problem, and I’m not advocating a new bureaucracy or any significant amount of government spending. Since farmers are responsible people and 99% of them are going to repay their loans, the expense of this program would be minimal and the benefits could be substantial. Commercial banks could administer this program at minimal cost to government and then shut it down after two years when farmers have recovered financially. Keep in mind that some of these farmers are going to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in this collapse. From what I’ve read, a lot of their money was lost in bad trades by MF Global and they’re not going to get it back.
the answer to every problem is govenment?
LORD SAVE ME FROM CONSERVATIVES.
Another possibility, at even lower cost, would be to simply authorize government loan guarantees for loans to purchase seed and supplies, with a requirement that the loans be made at the lowest possible interest rates—around 2% or lower (which is feasible given that banks pay less than 1% for short-term funding today). Then commercial banks could handle the whole problem with very minimal government activity required. This is also a good justifiable way for the GOP to chop some political wood in an election year.
It is going to get worse. MF is just the first to fall.
What happens if BOA goes belly up, and then they start clawing back the money from normal banking customers?
I never said “the answer to every problem is government.” But this is one problem that government can solve at very minimal expense. Medicare, on the other hand, is a huge, massively costly, out-of-control program that eventually has to be cut way back in size and cost.
B of A won’t go bankrupt. If they were doing their accounting according to strictly correct principles, B of A would already have been declared insolvent and shut down. Instead, they’re simply not going to recognize all their loan losses, while the Fed keeps them in business.
You are a capitalist as long as government will rescue you and assume the risk? You keep coming back with responses, not understanding the problem or what you are saying.
Hell, Pioneer Seed will finance him at zero percent. We ALREADY have several govt programs for this and we shouldn't have them either.
Hey pal, I understand the problem and I understand exactly what I’m saying. And when I want a lecture from you I’ll ask you for one. This will be my last post to you today.
I am an aggressive capitalist and a true believer in unfettered economic freedom and free enterprise. If you don’t like living in a capitalist nation and you want government benefits paid for by someone else, then you may leave the US and move to Old Europe any time you like.
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