A Blog Dedicated to Ending Agricultural Subsidies
Protection of agricultural interests is anathema to economic efficiency. I was once at a conference where someone supporting Canada's ban on the import of chicken meat asked with a straight face, "But do you want to become dependent on the Americans for your supply of chicken?"
Yes, if they do a better job of it than our protected chicken farmers.
I was just pointed to a blog [H/T to BrianF] that is opposed to all agricultural subsidies.
Here is one of its recent postings:
hear! hear!The Afghanistan government may be forced to give subsidies to farmers to persuade them not to grow opium. (poppies account for 60% of economic activity) and to grow wheat, rice and cotton instead. Farmers can’t compete with Western exports of these commodities because they are so highly subsidised.
Hang on a minute. Wouldn’t it be simpler for the US, Japan and Europe to abolish their own subsidies (thereby returning money to taxpayers) rather than pricing Afghanistan's agriculture out of the market?
Would a slogan such as "Abolish cotton subsidies and help kill the drugs trade" play well in the US?
<< Home