From: fkittred@spchp11.BBN.COM (Fletcher Kittredge)
Newsgroups: misc.rural
Subject: Re: Capital Suicide (was Real Farms)
Date: 11 Sep 92 09:33:01
Organization: Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc., 10 Molton Street, Cambridge, MA
	02138
	<FKITTRED.92Sep10134034@spchp11.BBN.COM>
	<1992Sep11.041332.13835@news.iastate.edu>
NNTP-Posting-Host: spchp11.bbn.com
In-reply-to: mpleis@iastate.edu's message of 11 Sep 92 04:13:32 GMT

In article <1992Sep11.041332.13835@news.iastate.edu> mpleis@iastate.edu (Cowboy) writes:
>   In article <FKITTRED.92Sep10134034@spchp11.BBN.COM> fkittred@spchp11.BBN.COM (Fletcher Kittredge) writes:
>   >In article <BuD2LF.7s5@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca> bobw@csg.uwaterloo.ca (Bob Wildfong) writes:
>>
>>>   From: bobw@csg.uwaterloo.ca (Bob Wildfong)
>>
>>>   100 years ago, most people had much more appreciation and respect for
>>>   agriculture than they do now.  About 80% (at least in my area) of the
>>>   population (and therefore 80% of the politicians and economists) came
>>>   from a rural background.
>>
>>They appreciated agriculture alright.  They knew agricultural labor
>>was a backbreaking, dangerous and economcially and intellectually
>>unrewarding life.  The vast majority were extrodinarily glad to get
>>off the farm, even if it meant working in some factory on an assembly
>>line.
>This is a line of BS about 80 rods long.  The pride of working the land and
>feeding the world.  I am planning to return to the farm. Got a problem with
>that???

We were discussing why there was a mass migration from agriculture to
other labor during the period between 1850 and 1950.  I was pointing
out that agricultural labor was backbreaking, dangerous and
economically and intellectually unrewarding during that period.  You
replied with a complete non-sequitor about your personal experiences
in the current period.  Your statements have nothing to do with the
discussion.

>To tell you the truth the Government does more to keep consumer prices down
>than farm prices up.

So why do we not drop farm subsidies and import duties on food?
Explain  to me the mechanism were subsidies and tariffs lower the
prices on foods.


> Considering that is all goverment was removed from the dairy industry (as an
> eample) Our price for milk would hit  $25/cwt and your would be $10 / gallon.
> So to sum this up Don't cuss the farmer with your MOUTH FULL.

I don't believe you. It is a little hard to understand what you are
saying.  Your reply is mostly confusing sentence fragments, not
sentences.  Could you rephrase this again in English?  I am interested
in the subject and have some economics background.  Could you explain
further?

By the way, I think your statement about farmers and full mouths
demonstrates a lack of understanding about the way economies work.
the same token you should not insult any member of society, since you
are as dependent on fishermen, autoworkers, doctors, software
engineers, academics as on farmers.  Farmers whining for special
privileges makes no more sense than any other group.


regards,
fletcher
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Newsgroups: misc.rural