Trickle-down farm subsidies
Sell your eBay stock now!
This morning over breakfast I was reminded by my friend Brian that many of the Midwest farms that reap the biggest benefits of federal subsidies use said funds to purchase shiny new John Deere tractors on a regular basis. But since they've only got room for so many brand new tractors on their thousands of acres, they put the "old" ones up for sale on eBay. This isn't just a hunch; at a RI Division of Agriculture roundtable meeting last year, a few of the small farmers extolled the joys of this version of trickle-down economics made possible through low-cost eBay purchases.
Cut those subsidies and eBay stands to lose thousands in commission on each lost sale.
This morning over breakfast I was reminded by my friend Brian that many of the Midwest farms that reap the biggest benefits of federal subsidies use said funds to purchase shiny new John Deere tractors on a regular basis. But since they've only got room for so many brand new tractors on their thousands of acres, they put the "old" ones up for sale on eBay. This isn't just a hunch; at a RI Division of Agriculture roundtable meeting last year, a few of the small farmers extolled the joys of this version of trickle-down economics made possible through low-cost eBay purchases.
Cut those subsidies and eBay stands to lose thousands in commission on each lost sale.
2:08 PM - link |
4 Comments:
My thoughts exactly! Ebay will lose thousands in comission revenues from cuts in farm subsidies. My father-in-law, a farmer, would always compalin about all the news about a farm being auctioned. He would say "if they'd just stop buying brand new John Deere's, they'd be fine!"
Hey and thank for the link! I'll link back!
Your comments make it sound like Ebay is doing something bad and doesn't deserve the commissions. They are providing a service that cuts out a lot of the middle man costs that used to exist with used product distribution and availability. They provide a much easier and less costly access point for farmers. We used to have only limited access to used equipment with very limited choice. Pricing was very localized and not competitive. Local implement dealers still have access to local farmers for sales of new tractors and trade-ins, but get to service the local sales and those occurring from Ebay and other internet sources.
Actually, I didn't really intend my comments as a critique of eBay, as much as a chuckle at what I see as an ironic side-effect of the current farm subsidies. I think it's great that small farms have more affordable access to the equipment they need and that usable equipment is being recycled rather than just trashed. The over-the-top farm susbsidies [that provide for the overconsumption of new equipment by larger farm operations] are what's out of whack.
Hello mate nicee post
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