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.
