Chicago Tribune (November 30)
“When Donald Trump takes office, he says, one of his first acts will be to pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a proposed trade deal with 11 other nations. Illinois farmers and factory owners are dismayed. China’s thrilled. What does that tell you about the wisdom of Trump’s decision?”
Wall Street Journal (September 3)
“All across American agriculture, production is up and prices are down.” With bumper crops expected, “corn prices have tanked, dropping to about $2.85 a bushel today from $6.50 three crop-seasons ago.” The Department of Agriculture is stepping in to help farmers with some subsidies and other programs, but what farmers really need is for Congress to “approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” which would boost demand overseas substantially.
Tags: Agriculture, Congress, Corn, Crops, Demand, DoA, Farmers, Overseas, Prices, Production, Subsidies, TPP
New York Times (January 10, 2014)
“For decades, Japan has defended its 778 percent tariffs on rice with a kind of religious zeal.” That may be coming to an end. With talks approaching over the Trans-Pacific Partnership, “urban Japanese — and even some farmers — are questioning exactly what those tariffs protect.”
Chicago Tribune (August 22)
In light of the growing prosperity of farmers, Congress should reduce subsidies. “It’s time to draw the line. It’s time to pass a farm bill that eliminates the costly and unnecessary $5 billion a year in direct payments to farmers and landowners. Farm income has soared from $75.6 billion in 2009 to $99.4 billion in 2010, $134.7 billion in 2011 and $135.6 billion in 2012.”
New York Times (November 27)
With popular support, Alabama adopted a strict law to cut down on illegal immigrants, who constituted over 4% of Alabama’s work force. The results have been costly and support is waning. The price of intolerance is proving too high. “Farmers can tally the cost of crops left to rot as workers flee. Governments can calculate the loss of revenues when taxpayers flee. It’s harder to measure the price of a ruined business reputation or the value of investments lost or productivity lost.”
Tags: Farmers, Illegal workers, Immigrants, Law, Tax, U.S.
