Posted on 06/04/2012 4:06:45 PM PDT by chessplayer
While the economic malfeasance of agricultural subsidies may be relatively low on the totem pole of the federal government’s massively wasteful and intrusive spending binge, they are in and of themselves astoundingly terrible ideas that come with a whole host of neighborhood effects. From toying with market signals and inflating food prices; to inhibiting free trade that would benefit the poverty-stricken worldwide; to encouraging overproduction that degrades the environment: they’re just bad news. No American industry has been so persistently coddled as agriculture, helping out niche groups and special interests in the short term but making us all worse off in the long term.
"The Senate is expected to begin debate this week on a five-year farm and food aid bill that would save $9.3 billion by ending direct payments to farmers and replacing them with subsidized insurance programs for when the weather turns bad or prices go south."
"The details are still to be worked out. But there’s rare agreement that fixed annual subsidies of $5 billion a year for farmers are no longer feasible in this age of tight budgets and when farmers in general are enjoying record prosperity."
Big words from people who can’t grow their own food. Obesity will not be a problem in the future.
Ag subsidies are as good a place as any to start the cutting. Eliminate all of them. Do it now.
I agree with cutting Ag subsidies but one has to realize that the Senate’s intent is not to stop spending this money but rather to give it to more fascism friendly industries.
“No American industry has been so persistently coddled as agriculture, helping out niche groups and special interests in the short term but making us all worse off in the long term.”
That’s all lies. Farmers did not want the federal government to control their business in the first place. The feds seized control of food prices as the first item in their agenda of total progressive control of the economy.
Any farmer will tell you, they will be happy to give up these federal government subsidies that were forced on them if the government will stop setting the price they can receive for their product.
you know, it would be interesting to find out what everything is worth without bailouts and subsidies and false propping.
Disappointed?
... and should be.
I’ve been advocating this for 40 years.
Quit paying people to “not grow stuff”, and let the market determine prices.
We can feed the world if the population control crowd gets out of the way.
Just make sure we’re not undermining the farmers in the 3rd world who need to make a living and provide an economic foundation in their culture.
how about we just do an across the board cut of all government subsidies.....
“Ag subsidies are as good a place as any to start the cutting. Eliminate all of them. Do it now.”
HOORAY Lurker! Shut down the whole department! Blame it on the socialists. THEY HAVE bankrupted us.
Need proof?...
DISMANTLE socialist collectives, foreign and domestic. (go ahead...pick any thousand...that would be a good place to START!)
live - FREE - republic
This is a tool to prevent people throwing the POLS out of office. Hungry people do that type of thing. Cheap food is soothing to the masses.
Farming is a high risk business. And the current subsidized insurance program has lots of flaws. And you must sign up for the insurance program, or you get no subsidy.
My family have always been farmers. Going back to well before the Civil War. In this county in TX since 1889. The subsidy programs began in the 1930’s. Many farmers refused the subsidy for several years after they began. That was a long long ago.
DITTO’s. Stop the Government price controls and stop the subsidies, but don’t control prices and leave them hanging.
Most farmers didn’t vote for Obama so I expect him to do exactly that.
Cut the crop price supports, ethanol subsidies and all agricultural related controls and subsidies at the same time or it won’t work.
Are you saying that if the American farmers are prevented from stealing from the taxpayers that people will starve?
Hear! Hear! (and a bump for your tagline)
Socialists are criminals. They roll with intimidation, plunder & death. Witness history. Witness current events.
DEPOPULATE socialists from the body politic.
"Socialim Is Legal Plunder" - Frederic Bastiat 1801-1850
Above all, if you wish to be strong, begin by rooting out every particle of socialism that may have crept into your legislation. This will be no light task. The Law; Frederic Bastiat 1801-1850
live - FREE - republic
Leech.
Well, he can’t do that politically. He might reduce what farmers get by lowering the target prices they receive for their product or any combination of lowering insurance or direct payments through any number of mechanisms the feds use to control agriculture, but agriculture would be the last sector of the economy the federal government would give up control over.
Hardly anybody can grow his own food any more. Get rid of the damm subsidies.
Time for supply and demand to take over in the Ag business.
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