On 11/27/2017 6:28 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> On 11/26/2017 9:53 PM, Casa de perritos felices wrote:
>> On 11/26/2017 7:13 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>>> On 11/26/2017 5:57 PM, Dave Smith wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Face is. The US dairy business is suffering because of
>>>> overproduction. Farmers can't sell their milk and processors can use
>>>> up all the surplus. Supply management keeps the supply and the
>>>> prices stable.
>>>
>>> And dairy farmers want to be dairy farmers even if the can't sell
>>> what they have.Â* I hear it around here all the time.Â* My great
>>> grandfather was a (farmer, dairy farmer, fisherman, lobsterman, etc)
>>> as was my grandfather, father and I want to be one too.Â* Supply and
>>> demand has nothing to do with it.Â* The ability to make a living has
>>> nothing to do with it.
>>
>>
>> Hah.
>>
>> The passion argument.
>>
>> Now explain subsidies.
>
> I can't.Â* Nor can anyone else from what I've read about them.

I can.

> Seems
> like a fleecing of the taxpayer promoted by lobbyists.

Until you factor in the strategic import of viable local food producers.

It's a harshly seasonal industry too, so there's another risk factor
aside from import dumping.

Not a great answer, but a rational one.

> The passion argument goes to many careers.Â* You can graduate from
> college with a degree in 4th century Greek sculpture, have $60,000 in
> student loans and wonder why you cant get a job.Â* But i wanted to study
> Greek sculpture.

Yes.

> At various times the government was buying out fishing boats, cows, farm
> fields to control production. I don't think it worked.

Unless you can gauge the efficacy by the continued viability of said
businesses and industries.

Consider, how much strategic disadvantage is a nation at which can not
locally produce its own foodstuffs?

If we value sovereignty and accept that this is still a global
marketplace (now more than ever) then subsidy and trade tariffs have to
(at times) make some sense.

It's when they become eternal entitlements that we suffer.