Farm subsidies are supported by most factions of the mainstream political spectrum for one reason: nobody wants to be guilty of "letting family farms perish". Subsidies are supposed to level the playing field and guarantee a basic income for those who pursue this traditional and hard way of life.
However, getting your hands on a state subsidy is an arcane and complicated task. Those who barely make ends meet by plowing their fields and harvesting their crops don't have time to get into this shady business and lack funds to hire a lawyer or tax consultant to handle it for them. Thus, agricultural subsidies flow mostly to big producers who thereby gain another advantage over their smaller competitors. Big agribusiness has the means to effectively siphon off subsidies. Family farms don't; they just want to honestly grow crops.
Farm subsidies are not a blessing to the family farm. They're another nail in its coffin.
(source: The Public Choice Capitalist)
However, getting your hands on a state subsidy is an arcane and complicated task. Those who barely make ends meet by plowing their fields and harvesting their crops don't have time to get into this shady business and lack funds to hire a lawyer or tax consultant to handle it for them. Thus, agricultural subsidies flow mostly to big producers who thereby gain another advantage over their smaller competitors. Big agribusiness has the means to effectively siphon off subsidies. Family farms don't; they just want to honestly grow crops.
Farm subsidies are not a blessing to the family farm. They're another nail in its coffin.
(source: The Public Choice Capitalist)
