The NEW Red vs. Blue US map.

[Dinner]

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0104730.html

That's an interesting table but it only deals with a few farm goods and not things which California really leaders the way in such as fruits, nuts, vegitables, wine, and chickens. I'd love to see a graph of the total value (in US$) of agricultural output by state.

[Colonâ„¢]

But then again, is Cafilonria really part of the West?

[MRT144]

http://www.heinzctr.org/ECOSYSTEMS/farm/ag_value.shtml

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten

Which doesn't quite stop them from accepting farm subsidies, I presume?

How many Western states do you think get large amounts of farm subsidies? It's not like Colorado, Utah or Nevada are chock full of corn fields...

Cotton is a big program crop for Ag subsidies, plus ranchers get most of same indirect subsidies as farmers through tax breaks which allow them to defer taxes on income repeatedly. Colorado and Utah have enough farming activity that they get their share of that particular piece of Federal pork.

Not to mention the huge amounts of subsidized grazing on Federal lands, below market lumber harvesting subsidies in National Forest lands (before you ***** about semantics, US Forest Service is part of the Dept. of Agriculture), non-competive mineral rights, seizure of Indian lands (Western Shoshone lands transferred at 1872 prices between BIA and BLM to give below-market mineral rights to Homestake Mining), tax breaks for oil and gas exploration, and production, etc. Oh yeah, and let's not forget cheap below-market power from Federal dams (WAPA, anybody), Federal funds for water projects and non-market based allocations of water from Federally controlled waterways.

In other words, the red state hypocrites out west are feeding at the welfare trough like everyone else they whine about, and perfectly willing to take any big-government largesse while talking out the other sides of their mouths.

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by Colonâ„¢
But then again, is Cafilonria really part of the West?

The central part sure is part of something. Bakersfield is like Midland-Odessa west, and Fresno is just, well, like Fresno.

[MRT144]

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Oerdin
...California really leads the way in such as fruits, nuts...

I think we can all agree on that!

[Drake Tungsten]

In other words, the red state hypocrites out west are feeding at the welfare trough like everyone else they whine about, and perfectly willing to take any big-government largesse while talking out the other sides of their mouths.

I totally agree with you, but I just had to take the piss out of Colon when he was stupid enough to use farm subsidies as his example instead of things like the lumber subsidies, mineral rights and other more relevant issues you mentioned...

[MRT144]

everyone who takes subsidies is usually a hypocrite because they also dont want the government in their lives

[Dinner]

One thing I did like about Drake's graph and that is it shows Texas is the France of America. In the EU France is known as the ag-subsidy consuming glutton where as in the US Texas is clearly the king of getting subsidies for its agricultural goods.

Who would have thought that the "free market republicans" of Texas who championed the phrase "it's your money, not the government's" are actually subsidy gluttons sucking at not one but both tits of the government.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Colonâ„¢
But then again, is Cafilonria really part of the West?

I guess Washington, Oregon, California, and Hawaii form a far western/Pacific block which is social much more liberal then the rest of the west. It seems Alaska has more in common with Idaho and Utah then it does with the other Pacific states.

[MRT144]

Amount of Subsidies received (1995-2004)
Over $4.2 billion over 10 years
$1.84 - $4.2 billion over 10 years
$600 million - $1.84 billion over 10 years
$100 - $600 million over 10 years
Under $100 million over 10 years





Value of Agricultural Products Sold (2002)
Over $5.5 billion annually
$3.9 - $5 billion annually
$2.3 - $3.9 billion annually
$600 million - $2.3 billion annually
Under $600 million annually

Source: USDA, Census of Agriculture.

[Odin]

My Rep (Collin Peterson, MN 7th district) will be the new chairman of the Agriculture Commitee, I'm expecting the Red River Valley to be flooded with more farm subsidy pork then it already is.

[Drake Tungsten]

One thing I did like about Drake's graph and that is it shows Texas is the France of America. In the EU France is known as the ag-subsidy consuming glutton where as in the US Texas is clearly the king of getting subsidies for its agricultural goods.

Has your brain deteriorated so far now that you can't even read a basic graph? Texas isn't very high on the list of states in terms of subsidies per acre under cultivation...

edit: And to MRT for pwning Colon even further...

[MRT144]

in, nd, sd, mo, really need their **** docked