mrdannyg, on 17 August 2012 - 05:49 AM, said:
As per my post, "supply management" in these industries is an effective price floor. Here in gaycommie land, we understand basic supply and demand, which says that if you put in an effective price floor, the producers profit, and everyone else pays for those profits.So basically, everyone who buys milk is subsidizing uneconomically high prices for farmers. The logic of course being that without these uneconomically high prices, small farmers couldn't afford to produce and we'd either run short of product or be subject to big commercial farms. The real reason, like the gun lobby, unemployment benefits and everything else, is that it is not a hugely unpopular issue to keep, but would be politically ugly to take away, so politicians keep kicking the can down the road.As Bob says, the quota in some of these industries is extremely valuable.
brvheart, on 18 August 2012 - 10:22 AM, said:
What's wrong with big commercial farms? I've never understood that argument for anything. Little towns bitch and complain about Wal-Mart ruining their town and driving all the mom and pop's out of business.... how about you idiots just keep shopping at the mom and pops and never step foot in Wal-Mart... problem solved. People always want it both ways. Do you want small family farms with incredibly high prices, or large efficient commercial farms and cheap prices? You can't have both.
Just thought I'd clarify that I mostly agree with you and BigD on this. Seems like this is about supporting the romanticized 'way of life' of small farms, which is not only bullshit, but unimportant.
brvheart, on 16 August 2012 - 07:26 PM, said:
You're being too nitpicky. Food prices are dramatically up in the last ten years, and it has a lot to do with ethanol.
BigDMcGee, on 17 August 2012 - 06:29 AM, said:
The price of corn has only started rising since about 2006. For years before that, since 1980 at least, the price of corn has mostly fluctuated between 2 and 3 dollars a bushel. If you adjust for inflation, the adjusted price of corn has been dropping steadily from 1981 to 2006. The past few years have only brought the price of corn back to it's effective 1981 price. Yes, ethanol is part of it. So is the price of oil ( which effects the costs of fertilizer, of planting, of transport and everything else). Some of the rise in the price of corn is just a market adjustment to a commodity that was priced artificially low. I think the largest thing though is china and other asian countries are importing massive amounts of corn in the past few years, and the demand for the commodity has risen.
brvheart, on 18 August 2012 - 11:09 AM, said:
Of course I don't disagree with any of this.
Can you clarify how BigD's post does not contradict your first one? Seems like BigD was explaining how ethanol is not likely a significant motivator in recent higher prices, whereas your initial one says the opposite. Or do you simply think that BigD is not wrong, except that both are having strong effects.Corn isn't really a crop here, and we don't have ethanol rules, so I'm learning lots about corn!
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