Billionaires Received U.S. Farm Subsidies, Report Finds.

[pipoman]

15. Prior to farm subsidies

as they are today, farm production was driven by the market and cartel like 'associations'. If the price of corn dropped, the US corn growers associations would strongly encourage farmers to reduce production which would drive up prices creating great swings in commodity prices from one year to the next. Most people only consider the swing effects on local grocery prices..the effect is much more dramatic for fulfillment of government commodity contracts. The US government negotiates contracts for farm commodities with foreign governments years in advance. A massive swing in prices equal massive differences in value of these contracts making them extremely difficult to negotiate and draining tax dollars. It is the government's and tax payer's interest to stabilize commodity pricing.

Since farms in the US are private enterprise, the government can't impose restrictions on them for production. The subsidy programs are designed to require massive amounts of information about production to be submitted for statistical evaluation, and participation allows the government to dictate what crops and what volumes of commodities are produced.

I am sure that big agribusiness has corrupted the system...what system hasn't been corrupted by big business from the tax code to the clean air act? Bottom line remains, if the government wishes to control production of private enterprise, they must induce participation voluntarily, thus the subsidy/crop insurance programs in place now.