Obama wants to cut Farm Subsidys

[Andrew1990]

As part of his 2010 budget, Obama proposed phasing-out direct payments to farmers with sales of more than $500,000 a year, to save $9.8 billion over 10 years

Source

Hmm, with Obama wanting to spend hundreds of billions of dollars for the DOWN PAYMENT on universal health care, I guess he has to cut 9.8Billion on spending for the Farmers of America.

In my opinion, we shouldn't cut anything out of the farming part of this country. It is the backbone of the America culture and economy.

Opinions?

 

[UglyCasanova]

All farm subsidies need to go.

 

[bamacre]

I think it's great.

 

[LegendKiller]

Ever see a "poor farmer"? I never saw one and I grew up near farms. Especially now, many of the farms these days are owned by ag-corps, not individual farmers. They employ a small % of people these days. While being an important part of the country they CAN and SHOULD stand on their own.

 

[fskimospy]

Originally posted by: Andrew1990

As part of his 2010 budget, Obama proposed phasing-out direct payments to farmers with sales of more than $500,000 a year, to save $9.8 billion over 10 years

Source

Hmm, with Obama wanting to spend hundreds of billions of dollars for the DOWN PAYMENT on universal health care, I guess he has to cut 9.8Billion on spending for the Farmers of America.

In my opinion, we shouldn't cut anything out of the farming part of this country. It is the backbone of the America culture and economy.

Opinions?

Farming is not the backbone of America's economy and it hasn't been the backbone of our culture since the 1800's. Farming subsidies largely go to huge corporations, and I see no particular need to bankroll them.

 

[miketheidiot]

Originally posted by: eskimospy

Originally posted by: Andrew1990

As part of his 2010 budget, Obama proposed phasing-out direct payments to farmers with sales of more than $500,000 a year, to save $9.8 billion over 10 years

Source

Hmm, with Obama wanting to spend hundreds of billions of dollars for the DOWN PAYMENT on universal health care, I guess he has to cut 9.8Billion on spending for the Farmers of America.

In my opinion, we shouldn't cut anything out of the farming part of this country. It is the backbone of the America culture and economy.

Opinions?

Farming is not the backbone of America's economy and it hasn't been the backbone of our culture since the 1800's. Farming subsidies largely go to huge corporations, and I see no particular need to bankroll them.

farming isn't even the backbone of the economy in many 'farming' states

 

[IronWing]

Slap a five to ten year moratorium on farm subsidies. See what happens and re-initiate subsidies where they are in the public interest and permanently end the rest. As things stand, the agricultural economy in this country is so distorted by subsidies it is impossible to tell where subsidies are ensuring a stable food supply and where they are simply handouts to big business.

 

[jpeyton]

Sweet :thumbsup:

 

[Strk]

Farm subsidies have to go, especially corn/ethanol subsidies. It would also be nice to see it done globally. I'd say sugar is one of the better examples. We artificially inflate its price here. It gets subsidized abroad, yet is still dirt cheap to produce.

 

[Craig234]

Originally posted by: Andrew1990

As part of his 2010 budget, Obama proposed phasing-out direct payments to farmers with sales of more than $500,000 a year, to save $9.8 billion over 10 years

Source

Hmm, with Obama wanting to spend hundreds of billions of dollars for the DOWN PAYMENT on universal health care, I guess he has to cut 9.8Billion on spending for the Farmers of America.

In my opinion, we shouldn't cut anything out of the farming part of this country. It is the backbone of the America culture and economy.

Opinions?

If we gave the sort of subsidies we give to the corporate farmers to, say, the porn inustry or online gaming, *they'd* be the backbone of the American culture and economy.

Wait, did you just say that famers are the American culture? Wow.

I think porn already has won that battle.

I don't see a lot of GQ covers of guys in overalls on tractors. 200 years ago, yes, farmers were the American culture.

Small farmers have gotten creamed by the corporate famrers - so, Obama is *ending subsidies* - not 'attacking the industry', not adding taxes, ending the handouts of taxpayers dollars to for-profit mega-farmers - payments largely representing simple political corruption - and he has an exemption for the smaller 'family farm'. What's not to like?

 

[blackangst1]

Originally posted by: eskimospy

Originally posted by: Andrew1990

As part of his 2010 budget, Obama proposed phasing-out direct payments to farmers with sales of more than $500,000 a year, to save $9.8 billion over 10 years

Source

Hmm, with Obama wanting to spend hundreds of billions of dollars for the DOWN PAYMENT on universal health care, I guess he has to cut 9.8Billion on spending for the Farmers of America.

In my opinion, we shouldn't cut anything out of the farming part of this country. It is the backbone of the America culture and economy.

Opinions?

Farming is not the backbone of America's economy and it hasn't been the backbone of our culture since the 1800's. Farming subsidies largely go to huge corporations, and I see no particular need to bankroll them.

+1

 

[Jaskalas]

My feelings are a little mixed on this subject, but then I just have to come to the logical conclusion. If they need money, they should raise the price of their food. We will buy that food for a higher price, offset by not spending our taxes on farm subsidy.

The benefit being no more strings attached, it might begin to resemble something of a free market. Not that Americans would know a free market if it walked up and and bit them.

 

[IronWing]

Originally posted by: Jaskalas
My feelings are a little mixed on this subject, but then I just have to come to the logical conclusion. If they need money, they should raise the price of their food. We will buy that food for a higher price, offset by not spending our taxes on farm subsidy.

The benefit being no more strings attached, it might begin to resemble something of a free market. Not that Americans would know a free market if it walked up and and bit them.

It's a bit of a problem though. Back in the good old days when we had a free market in agriculture we went through booms and busts like other commodities. The results were disastrous for farmers and consumers alike. Government meddling in the agricultural markets has been wildly successful but also very expensive, very likely unnecessarily expensive. I don't think we really do want to see a return to a completely free market wrt to our food supply. However, the current subsidy system is patently messed up.

 

[MovingTarget]

I'd say that this is a step in the right direction. Large corporate farms should NOT be subsidized. Smaller farms, which I see all the time, still exist and are really hurt by the large agribusinesses getting those subsidies. Help the little guy, not the big lobbying behemoths. Smaller farms not only preserve a way of life, they also tend to be more diverse in the crop species and number of crops planted. They also tend to be more able to adapt farming techniques to the specifics of the land they own, due to their personal, intimate knowledge of what is essentially their homestead. This kind of diversity must be preserved....

 

[Budmantom]

Originally posted by: blackangst1

Originally posted by: eskimospy

Originally posted by: Andrew1990

As part of his 2010 budget, Obama proposed phasing-out direct payments to farmers with sales of more than $500,000 a year, to save $9.8 billion over 10 years

Source

Hmm, with Obama wanting to spend hundreds of billions of dollars for the DOWN PAYMENT on universal health care, I guess he has to cut 9.8Billion on spending for the Farmers of America.

In my opinion, we shouldn't cut anything out of the farming part of this country. It is the backbone of the America culture and economy.

Opinions?

Farming is not the backbone of America's economy and it hasn't been the backbone of our culture since the 1800's. Farming subsidies largely go to huge corporations, and I see no particular need to bankroll them.

+1

:thumbsup:

 

[Turin39789]

yea, agribusiness learned to thrive and milk the subsidy for all it is worth. This has been something everyone saw as wrong for while now.

 

[Budmantom]

Originally posted by: UglyCasanova
All subsidies need to go.

fixed

 

[nullzero]

People in Iowa that gave him the momentum in primaries must feel a little pissed now. I think this is one of Obama's better moves however this can come back to haunt him since the democrats are filled with government handout voters.

 

[theeedude]

Farming is backbone of American culture and economy? You must be either joking or watch too many westerns.
Backbone of American culture and economy are healthy citizens.

 

[miketheidiot]

Originally posted by: ironwing

Originally posted by: Jaskalas
My feelings are a little mixed on this subject, but then I just have to come to the logical conclusion. If they need money, they should raise the price of their food. We will buy that food for a higher price, offset by not spending our taxes on farm subsidy.

The benefit being no more strings attached, it might begin to resemble something of a free market. Not that Americans would know a free market if it walked up and and bit them.

It's a bit of a problem though. Back in the good old days when we had a free market in agriculture we went through booms and busts like other commodities. The results were disastrous for farmers and consumers alike. Government meddling in the agricultural markets has been wildly successful but also very expensive, very likely unnecessarily expensive. I don't think we really do want to see a return to a completely free market wrt to our food supply. However, the current subsidy system is patently messed up.

I agree that some agricultural subsidies are good, mainly disaster insurance, as well as some encouragement of 'over production', but the ammount we pay in subsidies is WAY excessive of what is needed

 

[Craig234]

Originally posted by: senseamp
Farming is backbone of American culture and economy? You must be either joking or watch too many westerns.
Backbone of American culture and economy are healthy citizens.

I think the word culture is getting misused a lot in this thread.

 

[StageLeft]

This is one of the few countries where the poor people are the fattest. I'd say there is quite enough food as it is; kill the subsidies. I can buy a gallon of milk for $2.60, a big silo of oatmeal for like $1.89, food is almost free. Huge mother fvcking hunk of cheese for $6-7.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: senseamp
Farming is backbone of American culture and economy? You must be either joking or watch too many westerns.
Backbone of American culture and economy are healthy citizens.

Senseamp be nice to andrew......
I was taught over 40 years ago in Jr High School that farming was the backbone of America....
Later we understood how entirely wrong that was!!

So let andrew say what he is presently learning in Jr High School!!

 

[soccerballtux]

Good.

 

[Slew Foot]

As much as I think Obama is a complete doofus, this is a good thing to do.