Instead of Taxing soda, sweets or fatty foods, why doesn't the government just stop subsidizing them

[Teddy Pollins]

Then people can stop freaking out about a new tax, and be happy about a government that spent less wastefully?
Why does high fructose corn syrup need more help?
The federal government is the one subsidizing sweet food. Local governments are taxing them. The two have little influence on each other.
Something is going wrong...

 

[Tom Sweetnam]

Good idea.

 

[Freemason9]

Farm subsidies, especially as it relates to commodity crops such as corn, is more tricky than most folks understand.

In the 1930's, many (most) small row-crop farmers were forced off their land due to lingering drought, economic depression, and the introduction of mechanization (esp. tractors). They didn't produce enough income to repay loans or acquire new equipment, so they lost their land to banks. Large firms and property owners swallowed up that land and began the trend toward larger and larger farms.

Subsidies were created in the 1930's primarily to address two issues: (1) price supports were offered to smaller farms to keep their land, and (2) large farms were dumping/destroying crops and livestock to maintain higher market prices. Even when much of the nation was starving. So, subsidies tended to prevent larger land owners from destroying the food supply.

Since then, the creeping economic fascism in this country has shifted the benefits of subsidization to corporate farms.

The subsidization of corn harms the economy, the environment, and health in general; unfortunately, you will find that many, many members of Congress base their family wealth on a history of farm subsidies (especially Republicans--see King from Iowa, one of the most "conservative" of the bunch).

 

[ClosedCaption]

Great Idea

 

[Maxx]

I agree.

 

[Mad Scientist]

An overabundance of subsidized corn means that corn and it's derivitives make their way into non food items such as dry cell batteries.

I'm sure it's the same with government subsidized "everything else".

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Raises an interesting question: Does the government both subsidize AND tax things?

 

[Muhammed]

People who search for a picture of the extremely small percentage of fat kids and try to use the pic to make a point don't know how dishonest and/or illogical they seem.

Corn didn't make that kid fat.

 

[Moonglow]

An overabundance of subsidized corn means that corn and it's derivitives make their way into non food items such as dry cell batteries.

I'm sure it's the same with government subsidized "everything else".

Shall we stop all red wheat growth for explosives?