Originally posted by agrysonThe farmers we're talking about are in the United States. What are you talking about?
useless farmers would have to get real jobs?
The farmers we're talking about are living in countries where unemployment is that biggest employer, it's a VERY blinkered and westerncentric view to think they can just go get another job, do you even know what we're talking about?
That was absolujtely a ridiculous statement by you.
since you were quoting me, and I had been speaking about donating surplus food to third world countries, I'd been talking about third world farmers, so sorry for the confusion there.
Nonetheless you seem to be a little economically blinkered. Offering the surplus for free (which is actually what the US does in the form of food aid) causes an implosion in prices for local farmers in the third world, thus more often than not harming the local economy.
The EU has surpluses too, but chooses to let them rot instead of damaging the pricing on the world market. (a blunt tool, and I admit part of it is protectionist, though it does stabilise the prices for third world economies too)
point is, there's a lot of simple changes the first world could make, just in a legal sense that would help alot, without having to increase donations.