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Farm Subsidies: A Necessary Evil?

Subsidies are payments, economic concessions, or privileges given by the

government to favor businesses or consumers. In the 1930s, subsidies were designed to

favor agriculture. John Steinbeck expressed his dislike of the farm subsidy system of

the United States in his book, The Grapes of Wrath. In that book, the government gave

money to farms so that they would grow and sell a certain amount of crops. As a result,

Steinbeck argued, many people starved unnecessarily. Steinbeck examined farm subsidies

from a personal level, showing how they hurt the common man. Subsidies have a variety

of other problems, both on the micro and macro level, that should not be ignored. Despite

their benefits, farm subsidies are an inefficient and dysfunctional part of our economic

system.

The problems of the American farmer arose in the 1920s, and various methods

were introduced to help solve them. The United States still disagrees on how to solve

the continuing problem of agricultural overproduction. In 1916, the number of people living

on farms was at its maximum at 32,530,000. Most of these farms were relatively small

(Reische 51). Technological advances in the 1920's brought a variety of effects. The

use of machinery increased productivity while reducing the need for as many farm laborers.

The industrial boom of the 1920s drew many workers off the farm and into the cities.

Machinery, while increasing productivity, was very expensive. Demand for food, though,

stayed relatively constant (Long 85). As a result of this, food prices went down. The

small farmer was no longer able to compete, lacking the capital to buy productive

machinery. Small farms lost their practicality, and many farmers were forced to

consolidate to compete. Fewer, larger farms resulted (Reische 51). During the

Depression, unemployment grew while income shrank. "An extended drought had

aggravated the farm problem during the 1930s (Reische 52)."...