Government to give farmers 12 Bn

[Ken The Kanuck]

What do you think?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44945112

KTK

[Roadkingtrax]

Socialism, plain and simple.

[Sako]

I would have to see it to believe it. My family was all but bankrupted by Jimmy Carters 1980 Russian wheat embargo. I think the suggestion of help to the farmers is a tactical move to show the USA isn't intimidated.

[p246]

Don’t know what to think. I also remember my Dad starving to death farming during Carters embargo. He never recovered and finally had to sell out. There has got to be some middle ground somewhere.

[Allen]

I'm OK with it. What ever it takes to save farms. About the only thing we grow now is fking subdivisions. Tariffs and balancing of trade must be done. We have lost too many jobs, farms, technology products already because nothing was done in the past. This is not welfare. The government caused the temporary problem that the farmers couldn't plan for so they are compensating them. I just wonder if the 12B will be enough.

[Mark in Ottawa]

I understand that the US Government already spends about $20 Billion per year on agricultural subsidies. This will raise them to $32 Billion per year. It's a little hard not be cynical when Mr Trump makes rude and out of context remarks about high Canadian tariffs on dairy products. Canadian dairy tariffs and their effects on trade are minute compared to these American market-distorting subsidies.

[dryheat]

It's a slippery slope. What would Alan Greenspan do? Are the Amalgamated Pot Growers considered agriculture?

[S.A. Boggs]

Don’t know what to think. I also remember my Dad starving to death farming during Carters embargo. He never recovered and finally had to sell out. There has got to be some middle ground somewhere.

Have the government buy the products the farmers have to sell, cancer the EBT card and return to commodities.
Sam

[Major Tom]

I wonder if my small garden qualifies?

[Allen]

I wonder if my small garden qualifies?

I kinda doubt it.

My grandfather farmed for a living. We farmed mostly for weed control and not for a living. We later rented our land out (for free) for decades for others to farm. We, nor anyone I've ever know who farms has every received money to NOT grow any crops. I think the compensation being paid now is for the farmers who already had crops in the field and had the rug pulled out from under them having no one to sell to or limited to who to sell to which brings the profits (if any) way down.

There are no new farms. With the cost of land, government regulations, fuel, feed, seeds, fertilizer, chemicals, equipment, maintainence and equipment depreciation it isn't cost worthy. It's important to keep the few that are left before we become like Japan and dependent upon others for food. Due to government interference of banning pesticides such as DDT many farms are gone now and we import food from countries like Argentina and Brazil that use these banned pesticides. More sabotage to America.

[clintonhater]

Have the government buy the products the farmers have to sell, cancer the EBT card and return to commodities.
Sam

Have you cooked up a pot of soy beans lately?

[Allen]

Have you cooked up a pot of soy beans lately?

Yummy.

The farmers that we rented our land to mostly grew soy beans. As a kid I always liked to jump into a fully loaded truck of beans. They are like small hard marbles and you would sink up to your chest when landing in them. You'd had to have been there I guess. One such farmer was keen on using a lot of pesticides but did not use herbicides at all. The combines thrash out everything but the soy beans or things that are the size of soy beans. One time I jumped into a loaded bean truck that was literally full of sand spurs. That ended my enjoyable moments around soy bean harvesting.

[Art]

Have you cooked up a pot of soy beans lately?

If you bought "edamame" in a store you have. You've also eaten them as an ingredient in a whole host of foods. Check out the labels for soy or "soy protein."

As to the OP. Donald Trump was elected on protectionist platform. Part of protectionism is defending your products from retaliation due to punitive actions taken against other countries products. Up with with a few others like the aircraft industry at the top of the page of U.S. exports are agricultural products. They'll be taking it in the shorts in retaliatory tariffs which hurts them more since Ag is always a marginal industry. Trump is only following through on his policies.

Pres. Trump conceded during the election campaign that his policies would be inflationary but insisted it would be worth it due to more jobs with better salaries. This is anecdotal but I am noticing more "Made in USA" labels on everything from my new washing machine to the cushioning under my soon to be installed new floor. It's a tradeoff between higher prices and more American made stuff. How that will fly is yet to be seen.

Protectionism, by the by, is not a conservative economic principle, free trade is. Interestingly Ronald Reagan had strong protectionist tendencies as well. Bill Clinton was the conservative on trade as well as welfare reform, both of which policies resulted in him being raked over the coals by his own party. Both had the intended results; though at the expense of many domestic industries when it came to his trade policy.

[Sandpebble]

Reagans Protectionism

[QUOTE] { Interestingly Ronald Reagan had strong protectionist tendencies as well. Bill Clinton was the conservative on trade as well as welfare reform, both of which policies resulted in him being raked over the coals by his own party. Both had the intended results; though at the expense of many domestic industries when it came to his trade policy. }[ END QUOTE]

Art, I would urge you to Google this...... Pat Buchanan Requiem for a Patriot. It's the story of Roger Milliken ...it might offer a small pause to ponder....

[Sako]

If you bought "edamame" in a store you have. You've also eaten them as an ingredient in a whole host of foods. Check out the labels for soy or "soy protein."

As to the OP. Donald Trump was elected on protectionist platform. Part of protectionism is defending your products from retaliation due to punitive actions taken against other countries products. Up with with a few others like the aircraft industry at the top of the page of U.S. exports are agricultural products. They'll be taking it in the shorts in retaliatory tariffs which hurts them more since Ag is always a marginal industry. Trump is only following through on his policies.

Pres. Trump conceded during the election campaign that his policies would be inflationary but insisted it would be worth it due to more jobs with better salaries. This is anecdotal but I am noticing more "Made in USA" labels on everything from my new washing machine to the cushioning under my soon to be installed new floor. It's a tradeoff between higher prices and more American made stuff. How that will fly is yet to be seen.

Protectionism, by the by, is not a conservative economic principle, free trade is. Interestingly Ronald Reagan had strong protectionist tendencies as well. Bill Clinton was the conservative on trade as well as welfare reform, both of which policies resulted in him being raked over the coals by his own party. Both had the intended results; though at the expense of many domestic industries when it came to his trade policy.

People you can argue the fine points many different ways but I think Art has a good grasp on the situation.