"We can't run American farmers out of business."
They (at least the large corporate 'farms' that produce most of the subsidized commodity crops) are not really in the business of selling into free markets --- they are mainly in the business of capturing government handouts, at the expense of both the American taxpayer and American consumers... and, in passing, they help to keep free market agricultural producers such as Australia, India, Brazil, etc., from gaining the market share they would in a deregulated environment.
You can't really 'run someone out' of a business they are not really in.
Remember Adam Smith's 'Invisible Hand'? In a free market, production gravitates to where it has a natural advantage.
In the process, the productivity of EVERYONE goes up... as they all concentrate on maximizing their individual natural advantages.
"The food supply is one part of our infrastructure that has to be maintained."
THAT IS EXACTLY THE SAME WEAK AND SAD ARGUMENT THAT JAPAN TROTS OUT TO JUSTIFY IT'S MASSIVE SUBSIDIES FOR BEEF AND CITRUS PRODUCTION IN JAPAN... AND FRANCE RESORTS TO TO JUSTIFY THE SUBSIDIES (MORE THEN 50% OF THE VALUE OF CROP SALES) THAT THEY GIVE TO THEIR COUNTLESS SMALL FARMS TO PRODUCE GRAIN.
What I was trying to point out is that the World is at a crux in the global trade talks now. Either farm subsidies will be phased out (in North America, Japan, Europe) or else there will be no further progress in trade liberalization... and indeed, barriers to our industrial products will begin to rise again all over.
Hey: we can still subsidize our 'farmers' lifestyles, no problem! (We just won't be able to pay them taxpayer money for their crop production....)
We could still choose to pay them stipends for 'living down on the farm', pay them welfare, pay them to maintain scenic and historic districts... pay them all to dress like the Amish, pay them for conservation set-asides, WHATEVER THE TAXPAYERS WILL PUT UP WITH... just won't be able to artificially support their crop sales prices and distort world prices.... |
