Don't farm out our heritage

USA TODAY ^ | May 26, 2005 | Jessie Breaux

[hedgetrimmer]

USA Today must be posted as a title and link only. Read article here.

[investigateworld]

You keep put'n out the truth around here, don't expect to win any popularity contests LOL !

[Mind-numbed Robot]

Gosh, hedgetrimmer, are you losing your hedge subsidy?

[hedgetrimmer]

Dominican republic sugar producers.

[Nateman]

That looks like a pretty expensive machine. I know I could not afford it nor your typical third world grower of sugar. Even with this advantage the SUGAR BARONS are afraid of people in other lands who have to grow and harvest sugar with their bare hands, whose meager income is barely keeping them alive. Afraid because tropical lands are better suited to growing sugar and their state enforced monopoly would coming crashing down if simple competiton from these truly destitute folks was allowed. If you can't even compete with these folks in backward lands living under corrupt regimes, why should the American consumer foot the bill?

[hedgetrimmer]

Sorry but the SUGAR BARONS are the ones who use slave or close to slave labor to harvest their crops. Do you believe the workers shown in the Domincan Republic own their farms or work for a multinational? Who is the SUGAR BARON in that case?

American farmers mechanize to save money and to produce santitary, high quality crops. They pay people sufficient wages so that they can be contributors to our economy too. Do the SUGAR BARONS in the Dominican Republic offer the same clean, high quality product and provide good stable jobs as well, or do they exploit people who do not have a Bill of Rights or Constitutional government to protect them?

[Nateman]

Guess who subsidizes their own sugar production? Brazil

The ones complaining about this practice should be Brazil's citizens! For the US that means discounted sugar , more money to spend somewhere else. Proud to be a free trader, it means I believe in FREEDOM!

[hedgetrimmer]

I know I could not afford it nor your typical third world grower of sugar

Who is a typical third world grower in your view?

[Nateman]

Sorry but the SUGAR BARONS are the ones who use slave or close to slave labor to harvest their crops.

You could argue that Cuba uses slave labor but we already prevent their imports. "Close to slave labor" sounds like "A little bit pregnant" You are either a slave or you are not. If someone is willing to do the horrible toil of growing and harvesting sugar by hand , are you willing to even strip them of that small chance for survival? These backward countries are poor because they are not free, because some fat politician can make arbitrary decisions like " we will not allowed imported sugar! " .The solution is not to IMPORT their tyranny! Its amazing how much people can achieve when you simply get out of the way.

[hedgetrimmer]

but we already prevent their imports

Oh but the candy factory that moved to Canada for the cheap sugar? Guess what? They use Cuban sugar, because Cuba is a supplier to Canada. "Free trade" is so great, it always promotes the law of the jungle, where the suppliers who use slave labor or close to slave labor wins.

So the candy company relocated so they could use product from a communist dictatorship, rather than purchase it from clean, high quality US farms that do contribute to the US economy. I'll bet Castro really gets a kick out of that. And if the "free traders" get their way in the WTO negotitations and with CAFTA, Castro will really have the last laugh on us, won't he.

[hedgetrimmer]

"Close to slave labor" or indentured servants. Take your pick.

[hedgetrimmer]

because tropical lands are better suited to growing sugar

Thats a whopper.

[Nateman]

Here is a typical tale of a non-american grower:

http://www.gotouring.com/razzledazzle/articles/sugar.html

Amazing how Americans take the rule of law so much for granted, so much so that not a few are working full time to ruin it. ( You might know a few , like individuals who want special privileges for their products)

[ran15]

At the same time our confection and baking business moves to Canada because of high sugar prices!(Canuck Life Savers anyone?)

Excellent point. It reminds me of what happened when world steel prices went incredibly low in 2001. Our political leaders cried uncle at being flooded with cheap Asian steel, and put on something like 100% tarriffs to protect our steel industry.

Unfortunately the Chinese bought the dumped steel from countries like Korea, then turned that steel into manufactured products that they exported to America and around the world. Our manufacturers couldn't compete as we were paying double for the base material.

[hedgetrimmer]

The ones complaining about this practice should be Brazil's citizens!

Brazil is lobbying to remove supports for American sugar, but they won't get rid of their own because it PROTECTS their industry and provides jobs to the economy. What a coup if they can pull this off! Why must US farmers swallow a suicide pill to prop up the economy of a third world country?

"Free traders" say its the responsibility of the US to give up our wealth to pull the third world out of poverty.(just read Robert Zoellicks speech from May 16th) But in actual reality, the "Free traders" are just consolidating industries into the hands of a few global corporations and putting all other producers out of business. Its sharecropping on a global scale.

[hedgetrimmer]

If someone is willing to do the horrible toil of growing and harvesting sugar by hand

Mechanization is what saves humans from the "horrible toil". It is a way to prevent slavery in crop production. Producers SHOULD mechanize. It is the safest, cleanest, most effiecient and most pro-human choice for food production.

[hedgetrimmer]

Funny for a "Free trader" to talk about the rule of law, when to create the WTO the sovereignty of the United States was violated, and to accept rulings from the WTO violates the US Constitution.

Its also funny when "free traders' talk about the rule of law because they've created unelected tribunals to dictate trade policy usurping the authority of Congress to regulate trade. But that'll just be our little secret. We wouldn't want the MSM to pick up on it, would we? That might upset the American people, and they may want to throw CAFTA out, if they knew.

[Nateman]

"because Cuba is a supplier to Canada."

Canada is sinking into socialism quicker that the US. Why equal its fall by repeating its disease? If anything socialism is the control of trade, local or overseas.

[hedgetrimmer]

they are not free, because some fat politician can make arbitrary decisions like " we will not allowed imported sugar!

Pro Cuba?

[MissAmericanPie]

It's all about giving away the wealth and industry of America to raise the economies of third world nations in the Western Hemisphere. We are being strip mined, but my easy chair is just to comfy to really raise a fuss about it.

[Nateman]

"PROTECTS their industry and provides jobs to the economy." It might protect THIER sugar barons but it sure does NOT provide jobs. The money used to subsidize that Baron was pulled from some poor taxpayer who would have used it better.