Food Is Freedom: How Washington’s Food Subsidies Have Helped Make Americans Fat

Started by ammodotcom, May 14, 2021, 07:13:42 PM

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ammodotcom


Farm subsidies are perhaps the ultimate, but secret, third rail of American politics. While entitlements are discussed out in the open, farm subsidies are rarely talked about – even though they are the most expensive subsidy Washington doles out.

All told, the U.S. government spends $20 billion annually on farm subsidies, with approximately 39 percent of all farms receiving some sort of subsidy. For comparison, the oil industry gets about $4.6 billion annually and annual housing subsidies total another $15 billion. A significant portion of this $20 billion goes not to your local family farm, but to Big Aggie.

(Note that this $20 billion annual farm subsidy figure doesn't take into account the 30+ years of ethanol subsidies to the corn industry nor export subsidies to U.S. farmers issued by the USDA.)

The government never properly explains why this is. Certainly small farmers are growing their crops at enormous risk. However, it's not clear that agriculture is any different than other high-risk industries – especially because the United States is blessed with some of the most fertile farmland in the world, and a highly skilled labor force.

Subsidies don't just cost taxpayers, an expense that might properly be justified by showing a return on investment. Subsidies also provide powerful disincentives against innovation, as well as cost effectiveness and diversification of land use.

There is also a strong case to be made that farm subsidies are a major driver of the obesity and cancer epidemic in the United States. Every time Washington interferes in the private sector, they are picking winners and losers. The winners chosen are companies producing food that's high in calories and low in nutritional density – and that helps make Americans sick and fat, because it distorts what food is available at what price.

While President Trump has sometimes discussed reducing farm subsidies, the solution to the problem is much more radical – the total elimination of all farm subsidies from the federal budget.

Continue reading Food Is Freedom: How Washington's Food Subsidies Have Helped Make Americans Fat and Sick at Ammo.com.
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dickfoster

Quote from: ammodotcom on May 14, 2021, 07:13:42 PM

Farm subsidies are perhaps the ultimate, but secret, third rail of American politics. While entitlements are discussed out in the open, farm subsidies are rarely talked about – even though they are the most expensive subsidy Washington doles out.

All told, the U.S. government spends $20 billion annually on farm subsidies, with approximately 39 percent of all farms receiving some sort of subsidy. For comparison, the oil industry gets about $4.6 billion annually and annual housing subsidies total another $15 billion. A significant portion of this $20 billion goes not to your local family farm, but to Big Aggie.

(Note that this $20 billion annual farm subsidy figure doesn't take into account the 30+ years of ethanol subsidies to the corn industry nor export subsidies to U.S. farmers issued by the USDA.)

The government never properly explains why this is. Certainly small farmers are growing their crops at enormous risk. However, it's not clear that agriculture is any different than other high-risk industries – especially because the United States is blessed with some of the most fertile farmland in the world, and a highly skilled labor force.

Subsidies don't just cost taxpayers, an expense that might properly be justified by showing a return on investment. Subsidies also provide powerful disincentives against innovation, as well as cost effectiveness and diversification of land use.

There is also a strong case to be made that farm subsidies are a major driver of the obesity and cancer epidemic in the United States. Every time Washington interferes in the private sector, they are picking winners and losers. The winners chosen are companies producing food that's high in calories and low in nutritional density – and that helps make Americans sick and fat, because it distorts what food is available at what price.

While President Trump has sometimes discussed reducing farm subsidies, the solution to the problem is much more radical – the total elimination of all farm subsidies from the federal budget.

Continue reading Food Is Freedom: How Washington's Food Subsidies Have Helped Make Americans Fat and Sick at Ammo.com.
While farm subsidies were created to help small family farms recover from the depression era today few if any small farms get any today. Big cooporate farming enterprized cash it while government shoves other useless bullshit like etanol and high fructose corn syrup down our thriats to use up the coar and shit we don't need but contininue paying to grow. In a sane world subsidies should not exist because they create nothing but more problems.
Farm subsdidy programs came from FDR as another way to ease this nation into solalisitic and collective nonsense and more big government bullshit.
Crazy but not stupid!

ammodotcom

I don't think you could have summarized the article any more succinctly than that.
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Hoofer

All our transplants are in-the-ground & growing.
Our seed potatoes, sweet corn and a few remaining crops are going in this week - waiting for a rain to loosen up the big garden for the tiller.

A garden takes a bit of preparation, maybe the first season is a bust, but composting can quickly turn bad soil into great soil, even a huge pile of leaves, sticks & sawdust works.

Having said that, we always had a big garden growing up on a 250 acre farm/ranch.  The farm grew the stuff for the Horses-cows-pigs-chickens-etc., the garden grew the majority of the stuff for us.

I don't CARE about big farm substitutes, not one bit.  Nor do I care about Milk price supports, which kept our neighbors in business, back in Wisconsin.  The money is going to *many* farmers, some to plant, some not to plant - the farms are staying with the families.  Would a suburban house look better on that acreage?

Democrats have been destroying family farms, in the worst way, capital gains & inheritance taxes.  We almost lost our family business when my dad died, fortunately we were well into the incorporation process, and eeked through the remainder of it.  Had we not started incorporation months before, the taxes would have forced the sale... we paid $66 per acre, the land had been appraised @ $7000 per acre, 20yrs later.  It was terrible farm land, but, great for *our* nitche business, and everyone suddenly loved the elevation & views - wanting to move out there.

Of the 250 acres, about 140 of it was put in a forestry set-aside program - it lowered the taxes tremendously - allowing us to continue to use the land with the "Tree Farmer" signage - or again, the taxes would have forced the sale of the family farm.  Today, my oldest brother owns & farms 225 acres, my BIL runs the original business on 25 acres & another 50 he purchased from the neighbor.  They BOTH grow gardens... heat their houses with wood (gasp!).

Washington Farm Subsidies SAVED my families' business & farm, and my neighbor's 600 acre hog farm, the 1200 acre dairy farm that's next to us, and a multitude of Dairy Farms across Wisconsin - the best milk & cheese in the nation.  Thanks to government intervention, TAXATION, Inheritance Taxes - probably every serious farm is "a corporation" - and not because they wanted to.    You want to own a productive farm - incorporate or go broke.



People are worried about Bill Gates buying up open tracts of land, some suggest it's "prime farm land" - people who couldn't tell the difference between an undrainable swamp or had packed clay or rocky limestone.  All it takes to bankrupt this guy is a change in the TAX LAW, he's just ONE vote.

The government CREATES these dependencies, then funds them - blaming "corporate farms" is laughable - they're just trying to legally stay in business!  If it were YOU ... you'd do the same.

It is impossible to "undue" this kind of corporate welfare, without undoing ALL of it.  It's so ingrained into our "food supply", to suddenly STOP subsidizing, would collapse the US food supply, top-to-bottom. Clearly... that article was written by a city-dwelling idiot.  Now, close your eyes, click you heels together and wish for a "totally free market economy" - start paying $5 for milk, $10lb for pork & $15lb for beef, and God only knows how much a box of cereal would bounce up and down per year!  We enjoy price stability BECAUSE of government intervention!
All animals are created equal; Some just take longer to cook.   Survival is keeping an eye on those around you...