ST Alpha - "There's the crux: We don't "have" to subsidize ag. Ag works just fine and supply/demand would be effective in setting prices." (Reading a Post)

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In response to "you would know better than I, but my gut instinct is, if we have to subsidize an industry, agriculture is a hard one to argue with. -- nm" by El Fandie

There's the crux: We don't "have" to subsidize ag. Ag works just fine and supply/demand would be effective in setting prices.

Posted by TWuG Dec 1 '08, 09:50

Reagen is right that the current market is distorted, probably in favor of growers and increased profits rather than consumers and lower prices.

Roll back subsidies over a decade and the market would sort itself out no problem.

Responses:

sure it does, but then, most likely most of the ag would disappear from the us. -- nm - tRuMaN Dec 1, 09:53 14
- So? -- nm - TWuG Dec 1, 10:02 13
  - well, there's the increased cost and energy use to transport food that's grown ever further from its intended market. for starters. - znufrii Dec 1, 10:04 3
    - Increased transport costs may be offset by lower production costs. And foods are more substitutable than oil - if bread is too expensive, you buy - Roger More Dec 1, 10:09
    - also kinda kills the movement towards affordable locally grown foods. -- nm - tRuMaN Dec 1, 10:07 1
      - and if anything, we should encourage that rather than discourage it. -- nm - znufrii Dec 1, 10:09
  - well, see, you need to eat. -- nm - El Fandie Dec 1, 10:03 8
    - you can always buy what you need from other countries -- nm - Roger More Dec 1, 10:06 7
      - but can you? (a) it costs more to ship it (b) you lose quality as it is harvested earlier to allow shipping time (c) if the countries you are relying - El Fandie Dec 1, 10:07 4
        
        Canada imports $22 bn of food a year - it's the reason supermarket shelves are stocked with off-season produce -- nm - Roger More Dec 1, 10:10 2
        
        i realize this. and have you seen the cost of produce in january? -- nm - El Fandie Dec 1, 10:11 1
        
        But people still buy it. Personally, I'd rather eat it fresh from overseas than I would Canadian-grown in a can - Roger More Dec 1, 10:15
        
        its the same issue with foreign oil really. - tRuMaN Dec 1, 10:09
      - O RLY? *tightens the oil supply* -- nm - OPEC Dec 1, 10:07 1
        
        heh - see my answer above -- nm - Roger More Dec 1, 10:11
though certainly not without pain - Reagen Dec 1, 09:52 2
- Farming is business, if a specific farmer must have government help to stay in business, then they shouldn't be a farmer. - TWuG Dec 1, 09:58
- and there would be lots of good farmer who would go under as well. -- nm - tRuMaN Dec 1, 09:54

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There's the crux: We don't "have" to subsidize ag. Ag works just fine and supply/demand would be effective in setting prices.

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