Victor Milne
Wed, 3 Nov 1999 14:32:52 -0800
----- Original Message ----- From: john courtneidge <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: November 02, 1999 2:26 PM Subject: Two Rules, The World ? > Dear Co-operators and future(of)work friends, > > Regarding the below. > > It is mind-boggling (tho' not really ! ) that guaranteed incomes for farm > businesses are politically correct, while guaranteed incomes for citizens > are not ! > > In Europe, we (and I truely mean *we*) pay 'farmers' to *not* grow food (the > Set-Aside scheme in the EU's Common Agricultural - sic - Policy.) > Good point, John. FARM SUBSIDIES These surely did not begin with the EU. In Joseph Heller's classic novel "Catch-22", set in WW II and published in the 1950's, the father of one of the characters (Major Major Major, I believe) made his living by not growing alfalfa. Heller's may have indulged in an anachronism and he certainly used comic exaggeration, but I don't think he just plucked the idea out of thin air back in the 50's. FARMERS VS. (POOR) CITIZENS It's been said that farmers live poor and die rich. As a long time rural dweller I can tell you that even 25 years ago in Ontario a fairly modest dairy farm might have a book value of $1 million. That would mean that the farmer today could sell out, and even bank interest would provide him with at least twice as much income as I get from a factory job, at least four times as much as a single mother with two children on welfare. WHO IS A FARMER? It might be plausible to argue in favour of farm subsidies in order to keep food production in the hands of farm families--those who do live poor and die rich. Unfortunately it appears that the horse has already been stolen, so there is no point in locking the barn door now. Last year in Ontario there was a great outcry about hog farmers who were being forced to sell their pigs at less than the cost of production. Eventually some sort of subsidy was finagled. However, it was noted at the time that because of trade rules the subsidy would have to be made available not only to family farms but also to any agri-business engaged in hog production. In many cases these would be vertically-integrated companies with hog farms, slaughterhouses and meat-processing factories. As I understand it, the price of pork was pushed low at least partly because hog farms owned by agri-businesses were selling dirt-cheap to their own slaughterhouses. Live long and prosper Victor Milne FIGHT THE BASTARDS! An anti-neoconservative website at http://www3.sympatico.ca/pat-vic/pat-vic/ LONESOME ACRES RIDING STABLE at http://www3.sympatico.ca/pat-vic/home.htm DDT - DON'T DO TELEMARKETING at http://www.web-wiz.org/DDT/