From: viking@iastate.edu (Dan Sorenson)
Newsgroups: alt.politics.correct
Subject: Re: Misguided Economics
Date: 12 Aug 92 23:22:32 GMT
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames IA

muellerm@vuse.vanderbilt.edu (Marc Mueller) writes:

>A short summary of price supports: 40 billion dollars of tax money being used
>to raise food prices for the rest of us.  Your money was used to pay dairy
>farmers to slaughter herds of cows to raise the price of milk, to store thousands of tons of frozen broccoli, to sell US grains on the world market at half
>US prices (remember why the Australians were protesting during Bush's visit).
>Quota's were used to keep out foreign grains, peanuts, beef, cheese,etc.
>The only reason for all this protection is political pressure from US agricultural interests.

	Guess who keeps a politician in office in agricultural states?  I
wonder how a state like Michigan compares to Nebraska or Kansas for money
taken in this way?  Can you guess what state supports legislation keeping
the Merchant Marine afloat?  Could it be Virginia?  Before carping on how
much you pay for food, you might also add up these costs for which you
receive very little by way of benefits.

>In any case, the small farmer is on the way out.  The programs currently in use
>benefit corporate and large farmers much more due to their economies of scale
>then the small guy.

	Sadly, this is true.  The present trend is for farms to be run by
extended families as a business.  It's still a family farm, but the method
of ownership and monetary flow has changed.  One family near my old home
owned land that extended continuously for over thirty miles, and it was
legally a corporation.  That still doesn't nullify the fact that it was
a family owned and operated farm.  They reaped quite a bit on various
programs from the government.

>If you want to keep small farmers in business, simply take the 40 billion and
>divide it up each year and call it what it really is, charity for farmers.
>At least our food prices would then drop to the level of world market prices,
>which are considerably less than US prices, despite what Dan Sorensen said in
>his first posting about US prices being cheaper than anyone else's.

	Have you ever been out of this country?  Food is cheap, easily
available, and of high quality here.  This isn't the case in many, many
other countries, and even though I'm not a farmer I'd say this is a far
better state of affairs.  If the government handouts were so good, then
why do you think the farming population is decreasing?  As more and more
people get out for economic reasons, your case of farmers getting rich
off the government makes less and less sense.

>Farming interests have grown so arrogant (example: Dan Sorensen) that
>they now demand government charity as if it was their constitutional
>right.  No other industry receives as much protection and subsidies for
>no other reason than political pressure.  If US farmers are as productive
>as they claim, then why do they need protection from the market and
>overseas farmers?   

	They don't.  American farmers, if given access to foreign markets,
could easily wipe them out.  They have trade barriers, so Congress enacts
trade barriers of our own.  As for the charity aspect, I suggest you look
to the steel, textile, rail, merchant marine, and auto industries for
an example of other protected interests.  In any event, these are all
"strategic" interests and it does make sense to protect them.

>The point is, if the Democratic party cared more for the poor, they would
>end the programs that raise food prices.  However, the Democrats cannot
>shed their dependence on special interest groups, so look for nothing new.

	Neither can the Republicans, who tend to be fairly strong in the
conservative farming states.  About the only candidate with the testicular
mass to even suggest something like this would be the Libertarian, Marrou.
Don't expect it from him either.

<Dan Sorenson, DoD #1066 |"There'll be angels on Ariels in leather>
<z1dan@exnet.iastate.edu | and chrome, Ridin' down from heaven    >
<viking@iastate.edu      | just to carry me home." -- R. Thompson >
< ISU thinks I need more education, which they provide for a fee. >