Follow up: For an average income citizen (and I’m pretty darn average income at best, depending on if 2011 goes well) —
For every dollar of my taxes that goes to agriculture subsidies (ethanol aside for the moment), what is the return in lower food prices for, say, a “typical” family of 4? (Ok, my family is 3, but 4 is close enough.) :-)
I do realize that food prices in the U.S. are a relatively low % of a family’s expenditures, but if the prices are going to double, what is the return? Or presently, just what return are my tax dollars used for subsidies getting?
Not an exact answer to the question you posed, but you may find this informative:
In the 39 years from 1970 to 2009 food costs, as measured against the average American family income, fell 30%, from just under 14% of income to 10% of income. And the foods have become more ‘user friendly’ with better packaging and more ready to fix meals and ingredients.
I’m not sure what the last two years have done to that, but we are still a long ways from 1970 food prices.
More precisely:
On a dollar vs. dollar basis, just what return are my tax dollars used for AGRICULTURAL subsidies getting?