--by taxing imports and using the revenue to subsidize food for the consumer.
...
Big government control; first higher taxes, next government control of the market, and finally a worker's paradise.
Posted on 02/25/2008 5:08:27 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
—Da, comrade. The kulaks are enemies of the State.—
Cute. Obiviously you are too young to remember 1973, but this economic sabotage caused great “pocketbook mayhem” even before the oil shock hit. I don’t want to see Americans suffer now like they did back then.
Yet, for all your good intentions, you propose a policy that ensures what you wish to avoid actually occurs.
It is obvious that if you artificially depress prices for a commodity, production will go down. The producers will not want to incur large losses or invest large amounts of capital with a small return.
—It is obvious that if you artificially depress prices for a commodity, production will go down. The producers will not want to incur large losses or invest large amounts of capital with a small return.—
Well if prices are going to be high because of increased export or high because speculators will decrease production if export is cutoff, then it makes more sense to cutoff export. If nothing else, it will teach the ag lobby that greed and not putting the American consumer first has consequences. The American consumer will be no worse off (albeit no better off) either way.
Oh, really? Do you expect folks to be slaughtering livestock that is not theirs to slaughter, or are you advocating jailing people for disposing of their own property as they see fit?
The other alternative is to increase subsides domestically so the farmers will receive the global market price and sell domestically. Or let the market operate freely, which will make it more attractive for farmers to put more land into production to take advantage of an expanding market.
” Wheat prices have been near $10 a bushel, more than $6 a bushel higher. Cash prices for soybeans are about $13 a bushel, up more than $7 a bushel. Corn is pricing at almost $5 a bushel, an increase of greater than $3 a bushel.”
There is very little grain moving at these prices. If the farmers had any they would surely sell it, but I expect that everyone did as we did and sold the beans on the way up at $9/bushel.
With very few exceptions, ever since WWI, the agriculture problem has been one of overproduction. If the current high prices stick, production will increase and we will be “blessed” again with a excess of produce.
Not really. Of course given the state of our jurisprudence at this late date in the Republic, I’m not much surprised at any crap the courts manage to let through.
—With very few exceptions, ever since WWI, the agriculture problem has been one of overproduction. If the current high prices stick, production will increase and we will be “blessed” again with a excess of produce—
From your lips to God’s ears, as the saying goes.
We have never had the ethanol mandate and subsidies so the analogy does not hold. The ethanol mandates shifts the demand curve, impacting corn and many other crops. The past analogy involves only demand for food. Now we have demand for food and fuel. In addition, we have developing world demand. Thus, I do not see production catching up for some time if ever. A poor growing season will be disaster.
Now foreign buyers are greedy speculators? LOL!
Two solutions: (1) suspend ethanol mandates for a few months, let the corn go into feed rather than ethanol, and (2) any acreage we’re paying farmers NOT to grow on, tell them to grow stuff this year
Farmers refused to produce food at a loss and you call it economic sabotage? How dare they!
And yet they still won’t buy ethanol from Brazil because the “corn” lobby won’t allow it.
Jeez, the Hillary campaign seems to have infested even FreeRepublic.
Corn used for ethanol is also used for feed. Were the government to mandate that corn be used only for feed, it would be requiring that livestock feeding become dramatically less efficient.
He is a paleo. Lack of economic understanding should be assumed.
More the sugar lobby but whatever the case, with current high prices now would be a good time to do away with that import ban or tariff.
--by taxing imports and using the revenue to subsidize food for the consumer.
...
Big government control; first higher taxes, next government control of the market, and finally a worker's paradise.
I was a farmer in 1973. I don't remember such a thing. Refresh my memory.
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