EU retaliation in steel war.

[TCO]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger


Is it? If there are no subsidies maybe the ag businesses will actually have to compete with the local small farmers, which means less money is needed to import food, and that means less wealth transferred to another country.

huh? restate.

[DanS]

"Well didn't dubya get the teamsters on board for Alaska oil drilling ? So he is successfully expanding the party's corruption base."

No, he got most of the rest of labor as well. A real tour de force of politics. The Democratic leadership and much of the liberal constituency was blindsided and is still stanching the bleeding from the defection.

I don't understand where you're coming from by busting our balls on the interests involved. This is 75,000 union high-paying jobs in the US versus non-union jobs overseas. What's not worthy of support from a union perspective?

Further, labor is feared and respected most because it is highly effective in getting out the vote, especially in the latest elections. What's wrong with accentuating the fact that your interests are converging with labor?

Really Roland, to hear you talk, I wonder how politics is done in Austria.

[Adam Smith]

Gatekeeper:

What do you know of value-added locally-owned ag ventures? Would that be a good way to help family-level farmers stay on the farm? Around where I live, it's the latest "rage" so to speak, but we still have only a few such actual ventures (a soybean plant and four ethanol plants).

Just saw your 3/29 post above. I don't know exactly what you mean by "value-added locally-owned ag ventures", but I do know there have been studies in Minnesota, Iowa, and Kansas showing that farmers are buying larger trucks so they can move more of their crops to local processing plants (feed production, oil, ethanol) rather than shipping the raw product into world ag markets. Is this what you mean? I can probably dig up cites if you are interested.

[DanS]

There are a host of areas where family farms can add value. One way is inserting some of the processing stage into the growing stage. For instance, potato chip manufacturers will pay a high premium for a certain type and shape of potato. If growers can fill that need better than others, they are golden.

But remember that corporate farms can do it just as well, or perhaps better, and probably with a lower cost structure.

[Adam Smith]

Gatekeeper:

Forgot to add there is also a realtively new government program which encourages small farmers to sell fresh fruits and vegetables directly to food stamp recipients through farmers markets. Its not really a market mechanism, but does appear to fit what you are talking about.

(Made another post for this, thereby resisting the urge to pull a DanS by editing the my previous post )

[Roland]

"No, he got most of the rest of labor as well. A real tour de force of politics."

Quite impressive. And expensive.

"This is 75,000 union high-paying jobs in the US versus non-union jobs overseas. What's not worthy of support from a union perspective?"

75000 jobs ? Where ?

"Further, labor is feared and respected most because it is highly effective in getting out the vote, especially in the latest elections. What's wrong with accentuating the fact that your interests are converging with labor?"

There's nothing wrong with bringing special interests into the political process, but this amounts pretty much to vote-selling.

"Really Roland, to hear you talk, I wonder how politics is done in Austria."

After having observed it for about 20 years, I'm actually still wondering.... but that kind of US style corruption is rare. Couple years ago, the Mediaprint empire managed to get an exception from social security for their newspaper sellers - that is corruption. I think that one was killed by the constitutional court, though....

[Thue]

Originally posted by rah




Then the EU isn't as smart as you think. There is way too much time between now and his reelection for this to linger in voter's minds. We're talking short attention span americans here.

RAH

By that logic the voters would have forgotten the benefits Bush's steel tarifs would give them by the election too.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by GP
huh? restate.

The main reason why the large international ag corps can squeeze out local growers is subsidies. That's how they can sell cheap. When you said it's dumping, you are right. The problem with dumping is it is unfair competition. In this case, if there is no subsidy the ag businesses may actually need to sell their food in a range where the local growers can compete.

[TCO]

The subsidies represent a wealth transfer from the orignating countires tax payers to the recieving coutnries consumers. Imagine if it were a 100% subsidy. Of course this harms the local growers, but for the recieving coutnry overall, it is always good to get goods at a lower price...