Should the government increase subisidies provided to corn growers?

BBBBBBEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow I don't even know where to start.

1. Putting fuel in your tank is a really stupid idea. It's not good for your engine and it makes groceries more expensive. All of this only because of subsidies, otherwise it would be too expensive to put vegetables in your tank.

2. Subsidies are part of the problem, not the solution. Without subsidies, our diet would not be so corn centric.

3. Subsidies are eliminating competition from third world countries. African farmers can't compete with the US or Europe because of this, thus keeping them poor.

4. Farmers are really well off in the US, they have had many good years, this year is not good, but so is life. Weather risks have always been part of the farmers life. Next year will probably be great again.

the only thing worse than relying on other countries for our fuel needs is....

...relying on other countries for our food needs.

Farmers can NOT be allowed to go out of business. They are different than other businesses/industries. They are NEEDED.

END WELFARE TO SMALL FARMs. Let THEM file for bankruptcy so large $B corporations can take over farming in the US. Only $B corporations know how to make money from farming and ranching. That's the American Free Enterprise System, the best in the world.

You're now buying meat.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/08/13/3454190/as-drought-spurs-livestock-selloff.html

I think we eliminated ethanol subsidies last year. That was a good thing.

Farmers are subject to fluctuations in their markets just like other businesses are. No reason for government action.

We have the most productive farmers in the world and are a huge net exporter of food.

Farmers and ranchers are among the most avid knee jerk conservative Republicans. And they are also the biggest recipients of welfare on the planet. They get subsidies to grow, to not grow, rock bottom rate irrigation subsidies. I don't know if they realize what giant hypocrites they are when they cash their welfare checks one minute and whine about "big government" the next. If they are true conservatives, they should embrace the free market system and sink or swim on their own and get off of the backs of hard working Americans.

Hookem,

Don't hold your breath.

I know. I'd be laughing to the bank if I were a farmer.

The government should protect everyone, INCLUDING farmers.

Since this was in the "shoe" category, I thought you were talking about Corns. :)

Nutella1 wrote:

Wow I don't even know where to start.

4. Farmers are really well off in the US, they have had many good years, this year is not good, but so is life. Weather risks have always been part of the farmers life. Next year will probably be great again.

Farmers are not well off in the US. Commodity prices have gone up, but so have the cost of fuel, fertilizer (which is a petroleum product too) and equipment. Farmers cannot be competitive using 30 year old harvesting equipment. Most farmers in the US have spent the past few good years saving up enough money to be able to survive a failed crop. They are not out buying Mercedes-Benzes or vacation homes in Vail. Also, the vast majority of the benefit of high commodity prices go to the major Ag companies (ADM, Cargill, etc.) who buy from the farmers and store/process the raw commodities. The big Ag companies are really the ones who capture the farm subsidies and put all the risk on the farmers.

Precious Roy wrote:

Nutella1 wrote:

Wow I don't even know where to start.

4. Farmers are really well off in the US, they have had many good years, this year is not good, but so is life. Weather risks have always been part of the farmers life. Next year will probably be great again.

Farmers are not well off in the US.

Depends on how you define it. Farmers, taken as a group, are very close to average Americans in household income and do better than their rural neighbors. Small farmers depend largely on non-farm income. Many of these are people who farm part-time and their contribution to the overall agricultural output is relatively small. Larger farmers are doing quite well and have been over the last decade, at least. These are the people who receive the majority of the subsidies.

Mr. Obvious wrote:

I think we eliminated ethanol subsidies last year. That was a good thing.

Farmers are subject to fluctuations in their markets just like other businesses are. No reason for government action.

We have the most productive farmers in the world and are a huge net exporter of food.

Except we need food. We can't let farmers bankrupt and go out of business

Sugar based ethanol is so much better and cheaper.

hdhdhd wrote:

Except we need food. We can't let farmers bankrupt and go out of business

Farmers have been going bankrupt and out of business for decades. Larger, more efficient, and more productive farmers have taken over land and operations and our net farm output has been growing at an incredible rate over the last century.

my 3 cents wrote:

the only thing worse than relying on other countries for our fuel needs is....

...relying on other countries for our food needs.

Farmers can NOT be allowed to go out of business. They are different than other businesses/industries. They are NEEDED.

I hate you so much right now. Anyone stupid enough to believe that farmers need subsidies to stay afloat doesn't deserve to live.

It is true that aren't buying the Benz. They are buying $60000 decked out dually pickups.

A friend of mine in the insurance business knows a guy who was in the crop insurance adjustment realm. He said it was so rife with corruption, inflated payments, and fraud that he couldn't sleep nights and quit.

2012 Tea Party wrote:

END WELFARE TO SMALL FARMs. Let THEM file for bankruptcy so large $B corporations can take over farming in the US. Only $B corporations know how to make money from farming and ranching. That's the American Free Enterprise System, the best in the world.

We don't operate on a "free enterprise" or "capitalistic" economy because your $B corporations lobby govt to impose restrictions causing small business to struggle to compete. For example Monsanto genetically engineers seeds which produce "superior" crops (not healthier mind you); however they lobbied govt to pass a law prohibiting farmers from reusing the seeds produced from those crops so that they must continue to buy seeds year after year.

If they choose to even suspect a small or medium farmer of keeping their seeds they can drive them out of business through eternal expensive court proceedings.

Very rarely do I ever hear a complaint about Capitalism that actually has to do with Free Enterprise - it usually is a result of govt restrictions on Free Enterprise.