Sep 22, 2020
On this episode of the Resistance Library Podcast Dave and Sam
discuss farm subsidies in the United States.
Farm subsidies are perhaps the ultimate, but secret, third rail of
American politics. While entitlements are discussed out in the
open, farm subsidies are rarely talked about – even though they are
the most expensive subsidy Washington doles out.
All told, the U.S. government spends $20 billion annually on farm
subsidies, with approximately 39 percent of all farms receiving
some sort of subsidy. For comparison, the oil industry gets about
$4.6 billion annually and annual housing subsidies total another
$15 billion. A significant portion of this $20 billion goes not to
your local family farm, but to Big Aggie.
(Note that this $20 billion annual farm subsidy figure doesn’t take
into account the 30+ years of ethanol subsidies to the corn
industry nor export subsidies to U.S. farmers issued by the
USDA.)
The government never properly explains why this is. Certainly small
farmers are growing their crops at enormous risk. However, it’s not
clear that agriculture is any different than other high-risk
industries – especially because the United States is blessed with
some of the most fertile farmland in the world, and a highly
skilled labor force.
Subsidies don’t just cost taxpayers, an expense that might properly
be justified by showing a return on investment. Subsidies also
provide powerful disincentives against innovation, as well as cost
effectiveness and diversification of land use.
There is also a strong case to be made that farm subsidies are a
major driver of the obesity and cancer epidemic in the United
States. Every time Washington interferes in the private sector,
they are picking winners and losers. The winners chosen are
companies producing food that’s high in calories and low in
nutritional density – and that helps make Americans sick and fat,
because it distorts what food is available at what
price.
While President Trump has sometimes discussed reducing farm
subsidies, the solution to the problem is much more radical – the
total elimination of all farm subsidies from the federal
budget.
You can read the full article “Food
Is Freedom: How Washington’s Food Subsidies Have Helped Make
Americans Fat and Sick” at Ammo.com.
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