Posted by paul on February 09, 2009 at 16:07:13 from (66.44.132.127):
In Reply to: O/T Farm Subsidies posted by jhilyer on February 09, 2009 at 10:43:45:
Train, bus, supermarkets, Wallmarts, airlines, coal mines, manufacturing plants of any type - all get tax incentives, govt paid infrastructure, and outright payoffs to build, relocate, or continue.
Subsidies are a normal way of life for any industry in the USA.
Why should agriculture be any different?
Most farmers agree, they are bad, and would be better off without them. But if they are there, you can't hardly afford _not_ to collect them - can't compete with the other farmers if you don't.
Back in the 1960s, and again in the 1970s, the USA govt applied tarriffs and baned grain exports from the USA to willing buyers. This totally crashed the farm ecconomy. Perhaps you weren't around for that, or didn't pay attention to it. Life on the farm was forever changed when the govt meddled in farm business, and forced our buyers to turn to South America and spend money on developing _their_ grain markets. Buyers saw that the USA was not a dependable seller of grain, using it for political reasons.
No government wants to see food as undependable, andf the USA govt cut out our buyers for no reason.
Since that time, the govt has been involved in 'supporting' agriculture in the USA.
It is not good, but it is what we are left with.
Tell you what, I'm all for free ag markets again, no govt support. You make the USA govt promise they never hurt our markets like that _ever_ again, and we all will be happy to get away from the govt red tape.
Most of today's farm subsidies are tied to environmental issues, and are not much for direct handouts. One needs to jump through many, many EPA type of hoops to quailify for the govt progams, and any more the subsidies are just a way to control agriculture.
Depending on how much of this you understand & agree with, you will get many farmers that totally agree with you: eliminate the subsidies and red tape and just let us farm and just let us _sell_ our crops.
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