The Case Against Farm Welfare
Writing at Forbes, the Cato Institute’s Doug Bandow makes the case for kicking farmers “off the federal dole”:
Government subsidies obviously aren’t necessary for food production: people have fed themselves and traded their surpluses for thousands of years. The system doesn’t help consumers. Reducing supplies and imposing price floors obviously are bad deals for the hungry. Paying off farmers might lower some prices, but steals back through taxes any benefits received by consumers. Agricultural subsidies are designed by farmers for farmers.
But which farmers? Not the idyllic family farmer. The majority of payments go to farms with average annual revenue exceeding $200,000 and net worth around $2 million.
And from Reason.tv: "Agricultural Subsidies: Corporate Welfare for Farmers."
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Damon, why do you hate Teh Family Farm? Whyyyyyy!!??
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As a Davis alumn (Go Aggies), I'm proud to see Summer in this video.
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Man I never even thought about it like that before. Wow.
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Average annual revenue of $200k is not very much money, nor is having land and farming gear worth $2M all that much either. That might, in fact, be your idyllic family farmer.
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Annual revenue(gross?) of $200,000 is very low for any other type of small business.
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A Reason video on Agro Subsidies and no interview with Sallie James?!?!?! Uncool Reason, way uncool.
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And then you get assholes like Johnny Cougar stirring up mediocre IQ sentiment with songs that have lyrics like:
Rain on the scarecrow. Blood on the plow.
This land fed a nation. This land made me proud.
And Son I'm just sorry there's no legacy for you now.Unionized public educators, cops, firemen, federal bureaucrats who die before they get fired; AARP leeches; SNAP, TANF, and Section 8ers; and farmers -- all are American leeches.
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