The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1961-12-12

tGAAAON . NO1E. Lie lu1lOW
ing article is reprinted from the
November issue of Southern
States Cooperative Farmer mag
azine. The purpose of the article
is not to recommend that every
person or organization should re
ceive government subsidy but
instead to put the position of the
farmer more in perspective witt
farmer of other business.
Talk about farming with some
of your town or city friends. and
pretty soon. sure enough. up pops
the word subsidy
Subsidy? That sounds like a
dirty word. doesn't it? If so
then We have been dirty for a
long time. Subsidies have been a
Fart of the American political
system for many years. though
you would never guess it from
the misconceptions most folks
have about who is being .subsid-
lied.
It's time We all made an effort
to get our own and our friends
thinking straight on subsidies.
Let's being by taking a look
at three key figures. Industrial
wages are up 81 per cent since
1852. the index of all consumer
prices is up 10 per cent but
farm prices are down more
than II per cent. Farmers. by
receiving lower prices for their
commodities. have kept food and
clothing prices down.
Yes, farmers, have been subsid-
izing the rest Of the nations food
bill with the greatest burst of
efficiency any economic seq
ment has ever seen. Efficiency
on the farm since 1850 has been
increasing two and a half times
as fast as efficiency in the rest
of industry.
But that's not the end Of SUBJ
sides from farmers.
Lower farm prices have helped
make possible built-in maid SER
vice IN today's foods. a part
time maid in every supermarket
cart.
Farming today needs fewer
folks. and so every year farm
families have sent to town some
Is 900 trained and educated boys
and girls. with that certain self
sufficiency that life on the
farm brings. When you figure
the cost Of raising and educating
a youngster, doesn't this great
migration actually amount to a
huge subsidy?
Technically. a subsidy exists
when the government aids an
industry or group by making
cash payments, by providing a
service at less than cost. or by
granting special privileges. Yet
even by this definition, farmers
are maligned far out of proper
ton to the assistance they actual
ly receive.
About 20 per cent Of all govern
ment spending is for subsidies.
Agriculture gets about II -
per cent of that total. But air.
lines get subsidies. So do ship
ping interests, the petroleum in
dustry, the housing industry,
veterans-and many others.
Note carefully these facts:
The greatest and most endur-
ing subsidy ever known in this
country is the tariff. 1t op-
crates unseen, and the public
pays it through prices rather
than through taxes.
Subsidies helped build our rail
roads. canals, merchant fleet and
airlineS.
Direct subsidy payments to air
carriers, and postoffice payment
for air mail services, will total
more than $165 900, 900 this year.
Federal >Aid-to-Airports will add
to that total.
Inland and coastal shipping
services receive government
funds for construction of ships
research ard administrative ex-
penses. Observation-Disclosures
payments are made to encourage
the building Of ships in the U. S.
Work on harbors and channels
gets more milliors.
The cost of the farm price sup
port program from 1888 to 1858
is less Than the operating deficit
Of the Post Office for 10 years,
from 1916 to 1856.
Reconversion and tax amortiza-
ton benefits to business amount
ed to 1873 billions, from 1916 to
1856. or about eight times as
much as subsidies to agriculture.
Public power, funds to vet
Grams. benefits for labor and ex-
penditures for public assistance
are forms of subsidy payments.
Direct Federal programs such
as the soil bank program, Sugar
Act, Acreage Reserve and price
supports are subsidies to agri-
culture. But even the USDA
budget ALLEGATIONS for farm price
supports can be misleading.
They are charged as actual ex-
penditures. An example: There
may be S billion dollars allocated