Does anyone have a link that talks in depth about Ron Paul's position on farm subsidies, the reasons why he is against them, and how he can help farmers in other ways (ex. open up hemp market)?
Printable View
Does anyone have a link that talks in depth about Ron Paul's position on farm subsidies, the reasons why he is against them, and how he can help farmers in other ways (ex. open up hemp market)?
He hasn't really talked about it.
They're federal subsidies, so he doesn't like them. He would probably encourage states to come up with something.
They are unconstitutional, unneeded, and unfair. We get taxed more so they government can give money to farmers and then we pay higher prices at the store for food that comes from people whom have already received some of our money.
It is money being paid to farmers to NOT farm part of their land. It's beyond stupid. Want to sell more food? I hear there are a lot of starving people in Africa that could use some cheap food.
monoculture is dead!
He has talked about it. Search Ron Paul Farm on Google Video. There's a video of him speaking to a farmer's group. Starts out with: "Sorry I'm late. I was trying to stop a war." followed by applause. This was way before the presidential campaign.
Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HdmcZrDKyQ
The real pisser is that there is no need based analysis of the farm subsidies. When some of the wealthiest people in the world get subsidies when they literally do not farm ANYTHING, while small farmers are hurting to get by... something is wrong with the system.
Yeah. They go out and figure out the areas the get flooded and otherwise wouldn't grow crops. Then they pay the farmer a modest amount to seed the area with grass.
If the farmer wanted to risk it he could farm the land and if the crop was close to average he'd make more money.
Farm subsidies are an indirect way of controlling how much food costs and which food is grown. Notice that certain types of food (corn, wheat, dairy, etc.) are subsidized whereas other types aren't. I think that in a true free market, our diet would look much different.
That's true. There is corn in everything. Because we grow a ton of it.
And it's not just because of inflation that corn and dairy prices are so high.
Ethanol really sparked the corn prices. Since the government started enforcing specific ethanol amounts and such.
And when corn goes up, dairy goes up. My father, a small-time cattle raiser, has practically stopped buying cattle because it costs so much to feed them and it'd be easy lose money if the markets went the wrong way come selling time.
Corn & Dairy aren't out of control simply because of inflation. There is a supply & demand situation going on too.
Dairy prices especially have been kept artificially low by Federal subsidies for the last 25 last years and they are STILL TOO LOW.
Milk prices have just recently hit $15 per #100.
Without subsides you're looking at milk at about $8 a gallon.
Corn is at $4 a bushel - still too low.
Cotton subsidies are especialy outragous!
Tax money subsidies hugely unprofitable overproduction of cotton. Then it is sold way under production cost to the Chinese and other Asian clothes producers. This tax money "competition" kills en masse some of the poorest people in the world, the cotton workers of West Africa. They produce cotton much cheaper than american subsidy ranch cowboys, but the US government simply makes the US cotton price as low as it needs in order to wipe out the poorer more efficient competitors. Tax payers are forced to cover the huge losses.
No wonder that islamism is on the rise in West Africa! The US is waging a devastating economic war on that whole region, starving millions of hard working cotton families to death. Do you understand now why they were so cheerful when they heard of 911? Someone, Usama bin Ladin, managed to hurt the satanic US system which kills them. It was a day of great joy in the region! Al Qaida gave them hope of a better life, a life without the US cotton subsidies where hard work can pay off.
But then again, a handful of parasitic cowboys-wannabes get rich on the system, so what does it matter?
Basically, all interference in the "free market" is wrong. Unfortunately, the current system is so far removed from a free market that some intervention is necessary.
For example, ethanol requirements have turned into subsidies for corn farmers.
Land taxes discourage farmers, small businesses and competition, and encourages predatory pricing.
Why do Democrats want to tax land but still give them farm subsidies and still like small businesses and the ineffective anti-trust laws?
They are envious of Bill Gates' and other rich people's large houses and want revenge.
They are emotionalists.
They are economically ignorant.