Every year, taxpayers pay around $20 billion toward farm subsidies, money from the government that is supposed to help agriculture producers maintain a steady food supply.
These subsidies, however, are flawed, hurt the family farm and negatively affect consumers. America’s behemoth farm subsidies must end.
Farm subsidies go mainly to farmers who produce corn, cotton, rice, peanuts, soybeans and wheat. These subsidies are intended to alleviate farmer poverty but help very little toward this cause.
The bulk of farm subsidies are awarded to large farms and forgo the family farms we often think about when we discuss farming in America.
The average farm that receives subsidies has an income of nearly $200,000 and a net worth of approximately $2 million. Farm subsidies simply do not help most small-scale American farms.
Additionally, net farm income totals are projected to be $100.4 billion in 2017, and the average household income of farmers falls around $83,500 – which surpasses the national household median income of $59,000 by 70 percent.
Most farmers live in rural areas with lower costs of living, which stretches their $83,500 yearly income even further.
The $25 billion in taxes would be much better spent helping a demographic with greater economic need than these farmers.
Another argument made in favor of farm subsidies is that they help mitigate crop disaster. These subsidies are intended to compensate farmers in case of a weather disaster that destroys a harvest. But, this problem could be easily avoided by the same means normal citizens take to guard against risk: insurance.
The average homeowner is not gifted a yearly check by the government to mitigate the chance their home may be damaged. Instead, these homeowners pay for insurance. This practice should be no different for farmers.
Lastly, farm subsidies do not make economic sense. They are granted based on the amount of the commodity produced, meaning large farms receive the biggest subsidies.
In a free market, prices are meant to reflect the levels of supply and demand for a product. Farm subsidies, however, shield crop farmers from low market prices resulting from low demand and high supply.
In turn, this only encourages farmers to plant more acres of corn rather than meet the true demand of the market. Farmers will grow what will be subsidized, not what consumers demand.
Farm subsidies do not help the American economy, the American consumer or the American middle class. A farm subsidy is no different than a corporate welfare check to the farmers who earn more than the median income. Americans need to take a stand against government farm subsidies.
sareynol@indiana.edu
