Nothing Sweet about It (The outrageous U.S. sugar regime)

National Review Online ^ | July 16, 2007 | Frances B. Smith

[Toddsterpatriot]

Pay higher prices, for the farmers!!

[Toddsterpatriot]

Because of the high cost of sugar, jobs are lost in industries that use sugar in large quantities. Last year a Commerce Department study found that restricting sugar imports led to a loss of 10,000 jobs in candy manufacturing and noted that for every one job saved in the sugar industry, three jobs were lost in the confectionery industry.

Look at this. Trade restrictions caused a loss of jobs. And we got higher prices in the bargain.

[3AngelaD]

For a really interesting read, google the Fanjul family, originally from Cuba, which is the primary beneficiary of the government’s sugar program.

[sinclair]

Oh yes, we really should allow more foreign sugar into our country after all it goes so well with the pet food and toothpaste and mercury tainted fish we allow in now.

[TChris]

What?

Say it ain't so! Government price controls mess up the market?

Who'd a thunk it.

[Toddsterpatriot]

I saw all those scary stories about tainted Brazilian sugar (not).

[Toddsterpatriot]

Well as long as a rich family is getting all the benefits, that’ll be okay with the protectionists.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Some of the wealthiest farmers in the US are sugar beet growers in western MN/the Dakotas.

[sittnick]

I suspect that the corn industry actually supports the sugar price supports,as it means more high fructose corn syrup used in everything. They are 100x as powerful as the sugar lobby.

[UnklGene]

[Mase]

Pay higher prices, for the farmers!!

Too bad Willie isn't here to defend his belief that paying higher prices today prevents us from having to pay higher prices in the future. I read recently that the average net worth for the American farmer is $900,000. Your tax dollars at work.

[NonValueAdded]

Have they factored in the impact of the ethanol boondoggle? Doesn’t ethanol come at the expense of high fructose corn syrup? Might we se a return to sugar as the sweetener of choice?

[flashbunny]

Many here support just that for a variety of programs.

During passover, you can get kosher coke with REAL sugar. It tastes so much better than the junk they make now with the HFCS that I can’t stand to drink the HFCS version anymore.

[Toddsterpatriot]

Doesn’t ethanol come at the expense of high fructose corn syrup?

Yes, corn used for ethanol cannot be turned into HFCS.

Might we se a return to sugar as the sweetener of choice?

Only if we remove import restrictions.

[Cobra64]

[Toddsterpatriot]

I like it!

[Eric in the Ozarks]

From what I’ve been told, the beet growers/refiners are happy to stick with making sugar. They make more money (subsidies) than corn growers ever thought of.

[UnklGene]

Lard with sugar makes great sandwiches!

[NonValueAdded]

Thought so ... then the bill is basically structured like a buggy whip industry bailout, three steps behind the times.