3 ms·

The Fallacy of Being “Land Rich, Cash Poor” in Farming

jelliclesfarm 6y ago
i have been following certain trends amongst young farmers ..with some amusement and some horror. the sentiment that 'inheritance' is 'wrong' seems to be gaining favour. i dont understand this. passing on a legacy to the next generation/bloodline is the foundational basis of all civilisation. it is understandable and it works well. why is it so wrong to leave behind a legacy and an inheritance to your children? on surface, it seems that the 'have nots' want what the 'haves' possess , but would rather that they give it up. the motive is rather transparent. why is this not discouraged? obviously this is due to inequalities, but the real reason could also be due to population explosion and a higher replacement rate of the have nots and the haves fragmenting their inheritances until their descendants have nothing left behind to bequeath to subsequent generations. to me, this is a numbers play. and not really a sociological one. any immoveable asset is worthless until is sold. and it is taxed immediately after it is sold. the large swathes of farmland in america is really an incubator for bigger industries like farm machinery, inputs, supply chain, trucking, wall street where hogs and corn and soy are sold in the futures market. without undervalued farmland(where else can you rent an acre of farmland for $100?), the billion dollar industries will not exist. millions of jobs wont exist. billions of dollars in taxes wont exist. public pension funds wont exist. free public schools wont exist. the subsidies that go to the big farmers is a drop in the bucket. while personally, i am against food subsidies because i think we should consider the differences between supply side and demand side subsidies. but most american farm subsidies are for commodity farming and they serve a different purpose. its industry that keeps our gdp robust. without the pyramid we stand upon, our socialised economy would come crashing down. social programs and unfunded pension liablities and schools and cheap food will disappear. the reason the capitalist usa has a better quality of life than most other countries and has food so cheap and plentiful is because we have many socialised programs. it can be better..but it works. hard line marxism or communism or socialism will bring the whole thing down.
- necovek 6y ago
  Your response is utterly, painfully off-topic. Other than the fact you mention farming too.
  - jelliclesfarm 6y ago
    Please educate me. ETA: I realized that I am also following the twitter continuation of this extended discussion/medium post. I am sorry. It continued for me and I didn’t realize that the medium article was dated and I had continued with her logical conclusions on Twitter. https://twitter.com/sarah_k_mock/status/1307322171388317696?s=20 https://twitter.com/sarah_k_mock/status/1307322171388317696?... Etc. Ref: 1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_reform https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_reform 2. It brings back memories of this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_reform_in_India https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_reform_in_India .. an intensely traumatic period for some. FF: in the United states(and elsewhere), the deal between state and farmers (often delivered as subsidies) is a Faustian Bargain. But for now win-win.

i have been following certain trends amongst young farmers ..with some amusement and some horror. the sentiment that 'inheritance' is 'wrong' seems to be gaining favour. i dont understand this. passing on a legacy to the next generation/bloodline is the foundational basis of all civilisation. it is understandable and it works well. why is it so wrong to leave behind a legacy and an inheritance to your children? on surface, it seems that the 'have nots' want what the 'haves' possess , but would rather that they give it up. the motive is rather transparent. why is this not discouraged? obviously this is due to inequalities, but the real reason could also be due to population explosion and a higher replacement rate of the have nots and the haves fragmenting their inheritances until their descendants have nothing left behind to bequeath to subsequent generations. to me, this is a numbers play. and not really a sociological one. any immoveable asset is worthless until is sold. and it is taxed immediately after it is sold. the large swathes of farmland in america is really an incubator for bigger industries like farm machinery, inputs, supply chain, trucking, wall street where hogs and corn and soy are sold in the futures market. without undervalued farmland(where else can you rent an acre of farmland for $100?), the billion dollar industries will not exist. millions of jobs wont exist. billions of dollars in taxes wont exist. public pension funds wont exist. free public schools wont exist. the subsidies that go to the big farmers is a drop in the bucket. while personally, i am against food subsidies because i think we should consider the differences between supply side and demand side subsidies. but most american farm subsidies are for commodity farming and they serve a different purpose. its industry that keeps our gdp robust. without the pyramid we stand upon, our socialised economy would come crashing down. social programs and unfunded pension liablities and schools and cheap food will disappear. the reason the capitalist usa has a better quality of life than most other countries and has food so cheap and plentiful is because we have many socialised programs. it can be better..but it works. hard line marxism or communism or socialism will bring the whole thing down.

necovek 6y ago
Your response is utterly, painfully off-topic. Other than the fact you mention farming too.
- jelliclesfarm 6y ago
  Please educate me. ETA: I realized that I am also following the twitter continuation of this extended discussion/medium post. I am sorry. It continued for me and I didn’t realize that the medium article was dated and I had continued with her logical conclusions on Twitter. https://twitter.com/sarah_k_mock/status/1307322171388317696?s=20 https://twitter.com/sarah_k_mock/status/1307322171388317696?... Etc. Ref: 1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_reform https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_reform 2. It brings back memories of this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_reform_in_India https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_reform_in_India .. an intensely traumatic period for some. FF: in the United states(and elsewhere), the deal between state and farmers (often delivered as subsidies) is a Faustian Bargain. But for now win-win.