Government subsidies on cattle

[iowafarmer]

I farm here in Northwest Iowa and I do not collect direct payments due to that I was honest when I had to fill out my FSA paperwork and I am not actively involved on my farm as I am school and it is all custom work currently that I hire as I am unable to be there. I just finance it and make the decisions. All I ask for is a decent crop insurance program. The direct payments are not needed and most people I know that farm want to get rid of them especially with commodity prices where they are at. Then there is talk of a guaranteed revenue program. That is not free market. :deadhorse: It keeps there from being a turnover in farmers as they cannot go under so no matter how terrible of farmer they are the government will keep them in business. I just want a decent crop insurance program and due to crop insurance being able to break small insurance companies it would have to be supported by the government or else it would have to be huge businesses to support it. Take the drought in Texas or Iowa the amount of money it takes to pay out on bad years would kill small insurance companies due to that droughts affect large areas. I can get hail insurance which is through small companies but that is because hail tends to be in smaller areas and concentrated. I agree the system is abused. As a beginning farmer though some of the government programs really appeal to me such as beginning farmer loans with lower interest rates than banks and cost sharing programs. It is hard to compete and get into row crop farming if you come from a small operation and don't have a couple hundred thousand to throw at it. I have a hard time believing direct payments will go away because then to get direct payments you have to report your acres and how much you plant of which crop. It is how the government keeps their fingers in it.

 

[gimpyrancher]

I have to say this has been an entertaining read.

Let me share. My son is autistic. It isn't something he did to you. He gets Social Security (about $800/month) and he never paid into SS. The programs available to him are staffed by a huge number of people. People that yearly go to the government claiming they can't live on their present (example) $50,000 annual salaries. Annually, my son's services and benefits keep going down. These people going to the government for a raise while going to my son and telling him he has got to learn to live on less and less. The system serves the employed. My son is just the excuse to pay them.

The programs and services he is getting really have nothing to do with him. The system is set up for the non-disabled employees, not the people being served.

So while you claim it is the poor that are the problem and the drain, how do you justify at the same time the increasing number of people being paid to create and administer these programs? How do we justify the cost of our politicians that created this mess in the first place?

The President and Whitehouse are the problem? Someone must have forgotten the number of people being paid in both houses to run these programs. Not even mentioning the cost of the lobbyist.

Does anyone remember why we stole this country from the previous owners? :deadhorse:

 

[Anonymous]

I have to say this has been an entertaining read.

Let me share. My son is autistic. It isn't something he did to you. He gets Social Security (about $800/month) and he never paid into SS. The programs available to him are staffed by a huge number of people. People that yearly go to the government claiming they can't live on their present (example) $50,000 annual salaries. Annually, my son's services and benefits keep going down. These people going to the government for a raise while going to my son and telling him he has got to learn to live on less and less. The system serves the employed. My son is just the excuse to pay them.

The programs and services he is getting really have nothing to do with him. The system is set up for the non-disabled employees, not the people being served.

So while you claim it is the poor that are the problem and the drain, how do you justify at the same time the increasing number of people being paid to create and administer these programs? How do we justify the cost of our politicians that created this mess in the first place?

The President and Whitehouse are the problem? Someone must have forgotten the number of people being paid in both houses to run these programs. Not even mentioning the cost of the lobbyist.

Does anyone remember why we stole this country from the previous owners? :deadhorse:

I've got no problem with social programs going to those that truly need it. My BIL is a paranoid scizophrenic and has never paid in. But at 44 years old gets a check. My mil gets ssi, worked her hole life and then had triple bypass at 60. She got disability until she was 65. Like I said, those that are in need of social programs I don't have issues with. But the guy running 3000 acres and 350 head, getting 50k a year for losses he never saw....or the people that planted deer plots and didnt know what they were soon but claimed losses... Or the farmer in Jo's example who did great on one side of the road, but counted on getting a check for doing nothin on the other side of the road....
The abuses abound and those abusing it are often those bytching about others on assistance programs.
I haven't ever brought it up here, but there was a time in my life that we got food stamps. No matter how much I worked or how little I spent there wasn't enough to feed my family.
There are people that do need the programs, an there are those that abuse them. Wether they are food stamps or " losses". Abuse is abuse and not the intent behind the programs in place. But the rationalization is the reason I started this thread

 

[john250]

Well I typed a 10 minute response and my computer kicked me off and I lost it. Yes in VA, TN, KY and a few other states it was a settlement with the tobacco companys and some goes back to the producers. Although designed to help the farmers transition away from tobacco much of it goes to purposes not related to farming such as theaters, parks, etc. The cattle producer in small areas in VA can apply for 3,000 cost share on a bull or working facility. Not much else.

Every state gets tobacco company money! From the Master Settlement Agreement of--I think it was '96. States were supposed to use the money on smoking cessation programs, but most states just put it in the general fund. The tobacco growing states where tobacco farmers are numerous enough to have some political power used some of the money to transition tobacco farmers into other areas like cattle.
A tiny portion of the money goes into smoking cessation. After all, if people quit smoking the money dries up.
The tobacco industry was nationalized. It operates with the acquiesence of the govt.; as long as the taxes get paid it's fine.

 

[Jogeephus]

John, is it true that if I let them take more of my money to spend on whatever they want without my holding them accountable then I will get to pet the unicorn? I've heard something about this but don't know if its true.

 

[john250]

John, is it true that if I let them take more of my money to spend on whatever they want without my holding them accountable then I will get to pet the unicorn? I've heard something about this but don't know if its true.

Yes, absolutely. (BTW, Unicorn milk makes the best govt. cheese)

 

[Jogeephus]

John, is it true that if I let them take more of my money to spend on whatever they want without my holding them accountable then I will get to pet the unicorn? I've heard something about this but don't know if its true.

Yes, absolutely. (BTW, Unicorn milk makes the best govt. cheese)

:lol: :lol: :lol2: :lol2: You owe me a lung and a thorough monitor cleaning!

 

[hurleyjd]

Could be that if the subsidies were done away with then maybe the old folks would quit and make room for the younger ones coming along. Something will have to change here or there will not be enough farmers to go around.ht

 

[gimpyrancher]

No government can give you anything - unless it takes from others first.
Bez

The thing most forget is that the only reason one is able to make huge incomes is BECAUSE of the government they complain about paying taxes to. Didn't Farmers just get another 10 billion in Farm Aid while demanding less to the poor?

Remember back a few decades ago when they arrested and charged shop owners for excessive prices when disasters hit? the $20 bottle of water? Didn't we also have some type of "excessive profit" laws to stop the business owners from taking advantage of the public in extreme circumstances?

While we ferociously support the owner/operators of Corporations like Walmart and Standard Oil. Investors seem to have a "right" to make a profit that others don't seem to share.

The rich want "their share" of the handouts that others need just to survive. It's become The Moral Majority thing.

Here in Oregon, big ranchers got a rebate on their property taxes because of a water shortage. Keeping in mind the price of tax rate on farm land versus the rate charged on a small piece of land with a home in the city. When did the rest of us get a rebate on property taxes because the job market dried up? The poor hold rallies holding cardboard signs on the sidewalks. The "poor misunderstood" farmers drive a million dollars worth of farm equipment (including 18 wheel trucks and trailers) downtown to protest their need for more farm subsidies.

But who's counting?

 

[TexasBred]

Gimpy you need to read more full articles and fewer headlines. :nod:

 

[Isomade]

That money should have gone to the families of smokers before they knew the medical risks but that's another deal. At least it wasn't straight out of tax payer pockets. Well, directly anyway
Thanks for clarifying Tn for me

Yea, because you have to be a genius to figure out that sucking in a burning stick and inhaling smoke into your lungs is not healthy.