Agricultural Subsidies
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Google"The government is bailing out the banks...but who's going to bail out the government?" asks Texas cotton farmer Ken Gallaway, a vocal critic of agricultural subsidies that cost U.S. taxpayers and consumers billions of dollars a year in direct payments and higher prices for farm goods.
Agricultural subsidies were put in place in the 1930s during the
Great Depression, when 25 percent of Americans lived on farms. At
the time, Secretary of Agriculture Henry Wallace called them "a
temporary solution to deal with an emergency." Those programs are
still in place today, even though less than 1 percent of Americans
currently live on farms that are larger, more efficient, and more
productive than ever before.
Consider these facts. Ninety percent of all subsidies go to just
five crops: corn, rice, cotton, wheat, and soybeans. Two thirds of
all farm products-including perishable fruits and
vegetables-receive almost no subsidies. And just 10 percent of
recipients receive 75 percent of all subsidies. A program intended
to be a "temporary solution" has become one of our government's
most glaring examples of corporate welfare.
U.S. taxpayers aren't the only ones who pay the price. Cotton
subsidies, for example, encourage overproduction which lowers the
world price of cotton. That's great for people who buy cotton, but
it's disastrous for already impoverished cotton farmers in places
such as West Africa.
U.S. farm programs cost taxpayers billions each year, significantly
raise the price of commodities such as sugar (which is protected
from competition from other producers in other countries),
undermine world trade agreements, and contribute to the suffering
of poor farmers around the world. It's bad public policy,
especially in these troubled economic times.
"Agricultural Subsidies: Corporate Welfare for Farmers" is hosted
by Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie and is approximately 8.30 minutes
long. The producer-writer is Paul Feine and the producer-editor is
Roger Richards.
For an audio podcast version, go here.
For more videos in Reason.tv's award-winning Drew Carey Project series, go here.
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