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The Farm Fiasco
Book by Bovard, James
- GenresAgriculture
374 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
16 people want to read
About the author
James Bovard
30 books27 followersIs a libertarian author and lecturer whose political commentary targets examples of waste, failures, corruption, cronyism and abuses of power in government. He is the author of Attention Deficit Democracy, and eight other books. He has written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New Republic, Reader's Digest, The American Conservative, and many other publications. His books have been translated into Spanish, Arabic, Japanese, and Korean.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 26, 2024
A BROAD-RANGING CRITIQUE OF GOVERNMENTAL FARM POLICIES
James Bovard (born 1956) is a libertarian author and lecturer who has written many other books, such as 'The Fair Trade Fraud,' 'Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty,' 'Shakedown: How the Government Screws You from A to Z,' 'The Bush Betrayal,' etc.
He wrote in the Introduction to this 1991 book, "Farm programs have survived only because the farm lobby and many congressmen have successfully perpetuated an image of farmers as hardship cases. Yet the average farm family income has exceeded the median American family income every year since 1964." (Pg. 6) He states, "Most of the complaints about unfairly low crop prices in this century have stemmed largely from a refusal to admit that the cost of producing these crops has fallen steadily, thereby leading naturally to lower prices." (Pg. 52) He makes the important point, "while politicians claim that tobacco cannot be grown without government aid, there is a similar crop that has prospered despite government hostility. Marijuana...' (Pg. 76)
He argues, "there is really no more reason to protect the dairy industry than there is to protect any other industry. It makes no more sense to force Americans to pay triple the world price for butter than it does to force consumers to pay triple the world price for cars..." (Pg. 119) He asserts, "Marketing orders exemplify that principle that underlies almost all agricultural policy: The USDA can make America a better place by wasting and misallocating resources and by forcing people to do what no individual in his right mind would do." (Pg. 207)
He suggests that "Every scheme to reduce inequity between farmers and city folks has increased the inequality among farmers themselves." (Pg. 282) He proposes, "The best solution to most agricultural problems is to abolish the USDA program that causes the problem..." (Pg. 296) He adds, "Why should the government give a dairy farmer a million dollars to quit his trade when a typical laid-off worker receives little government aid to help him start a new career?" (Pg. 309)
This book is a fascinating and thought-provoking examination of the issues, and despite being more than thirty years old, still seems "relevant."
James Bovard (born 1956) is a libertarian author and lecturer who has written many other books, such as 'The Fair Trade Fraud,' 'Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty,' 'Shakedown: How the Government Screws You from A to Z,' 'The Bush Betrayal,' etc.
He wrote in the Introduction to this 1991 book, "Farm programs have survived only because the farm lobby and many congressmen have successfully perpetuated an image of farmers as hardship cases. Yet the average farm family income has exceeded the median American family income every year since 1964." (Pg. 6) He states, "Most of the complaints about unfairly low crop prices in this century have stemmed largely from a refusal to admit that the cost of producing these crops has fallen steadily, thereby leading naturally to lower prices." (Pg. 52) He makes the important point, "while politicians claim that tobacco cannot be grown without government aid, there is a similar crop that has prospered despite government hostility. Marijuana...' (Pg. 76)
He argues, "there is really no more reason to protect the dairy industry than there is to protect any other industry. It makes no more sense to force Americans to pay triple the world price for butter than it does to force consumers to pay triple the world price for cars..." (Pg. 119) He asserts, "Marketing orders exemplify that principle that underlies almost all agricultural policy: The USDA can make America a better place by wasting and misallocating resources and by forcing people to do what no individual in his right mind would do." (Pg. 207)
He suggests that "Every scheme to reduce inequity between farmers and city folks has increased the inequality among farmers themselves." (Pg. 282) He proposes, "The best solution to most agricultural problems is to abolish the USDA program that causes the problem..." (Pg. 296) He adds, "Why should the government give a dairy farmer a million dollars to quit his trade when a typical laid-off worker receives little government aid to help him start a new career?" (Pg. 309)
This book is a fascinating and thought-provoking examination of the issues, and despite being more than thirty years old, still seems "relevant."
June 20, 2012
This book basically lists in excruciating detail the failures of the last 70 or so years of farm policy in the United States.
This book is tough to rate. I had to put it down not because it wasn't good, but because the topic depressed me and made me so angry I couldn't take reading it anymore. So in that sense Bovard obviously did a pretty good job, but I could have used a little more story telling and scene setting, since many of the ideas were new to me and I needed context to fully understand them.
This book is tough to rate. I had to put it down not because it wasn't good, but because the topic depressed me and made me so angry I couldn't take reading it anymore. So in that sense Bovard obviously did a pretty good job, but I could have used a little more story telling and scene setting, since many of the ideas were new to me and I needed context to fully understand them.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews