Originally posted by: jkersenbr
Originally posted by: sygyzy
Originally posted by: spidey07
Originally posted by: thomsbrain
amen! and they can take the fvcking midwest with them, with their freeloading government-subsidized agricultural economies.
you guys realize the red states would starve without the blue states? except for texas, of course. they've got enough oil to last 'em for a while. but seriously, if you take away the auto industry and tech industy, which blue owns, plus pretty much the entire industrial, financial, entertainment, and clothing industries (minus fvcking nashville), all you're left with is oil (we can buy it from a bajillion other sources and already do) and agriculture (same, PLUS that actually costs us tax money now and wouldn't if we told you to take a hike).
so maybe the red states should think a little harder before biting the hands that feed them.
You will be the first to go during the civil war.
You need the food we grow silly.
Farms in the US overproduce and continue to do so because they are paid to do so by the government. There are farmers that produce crops, then store them in large silos or dump them, then repeat. Imagine the type of person it takes to do that? To run a farm that is basically worthless. But greed is a powerful force. There are many poor farmers, but plenty of rich ones too.
So sure, we need the food you grow, but not much of it.
So, California boy, who made you an expert on the subject?
I'm a farmer, so let me clue you in to something other than the anti-agriculture propaganda you're spewing:
It is very rare for farmers individually store grain for more than 6-9 months. The companies farmers sell produce to may store it for a very long time (this is what is called the "reserves") but that is out of the farmers hands. Actually, the governement itself owns much of the reserves so they can feed countries we blow up.
With exception of large corporate farms, farmers often work for equity. They may be worth a million dollars but only have $1000 in their checking account and $10 in their wallet. Equity comes and goes with market whims. For example, land in 1970 here was worth about $125/acre. Now it's $800+. So now the farmer that bought in 1970 is rich, even though he still doesn't have any extra money in his pocket to show for it unless he borrows money against his land.
I'd love to hear you tell Detroit "So sure, we need the cars you produce, but not many of them."
Or tell the oil companies "So sure, we need some of the oil you produce, but not much of it."
It's just as stupid.
The governement does subsidize agriculture. But we don't all take it. I don't.
And, just to clue you in, the governement also has a program called the Conservation Reserve in which they pay farmers to take land out of production and NOT farm. So the government intrusion doesn't completely favor overproduction.
Also, if we are overproducing, why do we continually import grain (mostly soybeans) from overseas? Can we not even supply domestic consumption?
Think, California boy. Life isn't all asphalt, movies, shiny cars, and dope. As the old saying goes, don't bite the hand that feeds you.