Not really.Della wrote: ↑Fri May 10, 2024 3:44 pmFarmers Welfare
Farm subsidies are more like “universal basic income” than welfare. Farming is risky with a whole lot of factors that can create a profit loss. Subsidies basically ensure that if a farmer plants a certain amount of a crop he/she will have assurances that they will have a set amount of income regardless of the market or weather. You can also think of it like an insurance policy. The thing about subsidies is they are reliable numbers and farmers have been getting them since 1940s because without that insurance policy, how would you plan for the season.
Trump’s tariff and trade policies were bankrupting farms because n 2018/2019 and because subsidies account for loss outside of market fluctuations, farmers were needless to say, pissed off. They were fucked. Trump gave farmers a huge bailout outside of congressionally approved funds and it did at that time save a lot of farms. However Trump was accused of “buying votes” and it should be noted that a bailout isn’t sustainable nor helpful for long term farmer’s fiscal planning. Kind of like if someone gave you $100,000 but then couldn’t guarantee your income after next year, it would seem great at the time but not so great 5 years down the road.
Biden rolled back tariffs and trade blocks and now farmers are thriving. However, cost of farming, particularly soy beans has also sky rocketed hence the increase in subsidies coupled with green energy incentives to grow soybeans, lol.
Trump wants to reinstate the trade wars and tariffs AND Republicans want to do away with farmer subsidies. This has the potential to really, really suck for independent farmers.