Comments on: Big Ag Holds Big Sway in Farm Bill http://washingtonindependent.com/1335/big-ag-holds-big-sway-in-farm-bill National News in Context Sun, 04 Mar 2012 13:30:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: peacemakesplenty http://washingtonindependent.com/1335/big-ag-holds-big-sway-in-farm-bill/comment-page-1#comment-1109 peacemakesplenty Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.washingtonindependent.com.php5-9.websitetestlink.com/?p=1335#comment-1109 <i>"One controversial provision creates a new program to have the government buy surplus sugar from the marketplace and put it toward ethanol production. Chris Edwards, director of tax policy at the conservative Cato Institute, said that that provision hurts consumers twice: First, when their taxpayer dollars fund the program; and later, when it reduces market supply, thus keeping sugar prices artificially high on the grocery store shelves."</i> Actually, from the economic angle, this is one of the main benefits of biofuel production - farmers can take excess crops from the market, convert them to ethanol, and thus not be stuck with crops the market doesn't want. From the farmer's end, such flexibility allows one to survive the changing picture of demand and supply - this is "diversification" at the farmer's end. If diversification is good for investment, why isn't it also good for farmers? However, the subsidies for exports should be banned, period. That is a great dishonest scam that does as much economic damage abroad as it does at home. Instead, we should focus on subsidies for low-energy food production (solar and wind and electric motor-based farm equipment), as well for water- and fertilizer-efficient farming practices that use minimal amounts of pesticides and herbicides. The biofuel subsidies are very defendable - the U.S. has always subsidized fledgling technology startups using taxpayer dollars - that is the number one theme in U.S. academic universities today, and is actually out of control - pharmaceuticals, electronics, military contracts, financial studies - there are huge taxpayer subsidies for these industries that go unremarked on, or are defended as classic examples of public-private partnerships that do wonderful things for the economy. The fact is, the fossil fuel industry and their financial controllers are realizing that if biofuels , electric cars and fuel efficiency take off, their petroleum markets will shrink to almost nothing - so they are trying every trick in the book to halt it, but that now seems very unlikely. Thus, it's bye bye, dinosaurs - evolve or fossilize. “One controversial provision creates a new program to have the government buy surplus sugar from the marketplace and put it toward ethanol production. Chris Edwards, director of tax policy at the conservative Cato Institute, said that that provision hurts consumers twice: First, when their taxpayer dollars fund the program; and later, when it reduces market supply, thus keeping sugar prices artificially high on the grocery store shelves.”

Actually, from the economic angle, this is one of the main benefits of biofuel production – farmers can take excess crops from the market, convert them to ethanol, and thus not be stuck with crops the market doesn’t want. From the farmer’s end, such flexibility allows one to survive the changing picture of demand and supply – this is “diversification” at the farmer’s end.

If diversification is good for investment, why isn’t it also good for farmers?

However, the subsidies for exports should be banned, period. That is a great dishonest scam that does as much economic damage abroad as it does at home. Instead, we should focus on subsidies for low-energy food production (solar and wind and electric motor-based farm equipment), as well for water- and fertilizer-efficient farming practices that use minimal amounts of pesticides and herbicides.

The biofuel subsidies are very defendable – the U.S. has always subsidized fledgling technology startups using taxpayer dollars – that is the number one theme in U.S. academic universities today, and is actually out of control – pharmaceuticals, electronics, military contracts, financial studies – there are huge taxpayer subsidies for these industries that go unremarked on, or are defended as classic examples of public-private partnerships that do wonderful things for the economy.

The fact is, the fossil fuel industry and their financial controllers are realizing that if biofuels , electric cars and fuel efficiency take off, their petroleum markets will shrink to almost nothing – so they are trying every trick in the book to halt it, but that now seems very unlikely. Thus, it’s bye bye, dinosaurs – evolve or fossilize.

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