On Fri, 11 Jul 2014 09:42:40 -0700, "Pico Rico"
> wrote:

>
> "sf" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > Want to know why we pay so much for sugar? Farm subsidies, that's
> > why.
> >
> > The One Percent (documentary)
> > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmlX3fLQrEc
>
>
> I thought we all knew that.
>
> There was a time that some company was importing sweetened ice tea, which
> was not price controlled, extracting the sugar and throwing away the tea.
>
> I think one reason we continue with our farm subsidies is to not
> unilaterally disarm - we have tried to trade eliminating/reducing our farm
> subsidies in exchange for other protective countries doing the same or
> offering some loosening of their other protections, but the deals always
> fell through. Seems the US is not the only protectionist country - probably
> far less so than most.
>
30 minutes into the documentary: Thanks to farm subsidies, our sugar
producers are guaranteed 22¢ lb while the world price of sugar is 7¢
lb and there is no competition. The price of sugar in Canada and
Mexico is one third the price of sugar in the USA and when we have a
sugar surplus, the government buys it at the high price. So in
effect, our government is making the rich richer.

Go to 33:30 and you'll see where the Fanjuls found their workers and
how their workers were treated. It's shameful. As a result of being
closely scrutinized, they mechanized sugarcane harvesting and
eliminated most of the work force. Where do people who were poor and
uneducated in their original country find work after being a sugar
cane harvester? They don't.

--
All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.