1 Comments

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  floyd_43 at 12:33 PM JST - 22nd November

  Its about time someone took on the farmers, who seem to think that the laws of supply and demand don't belong to them! Why the hell should the urban population have to pay through the nose for products just to support a bunch of jii-chans who provide nothing to the wealth of the nation?? And I hate their perenial moaning about how poor they are! Last year, my friend took me up to Iwate to stay on his parents' farm. I was shocked at how much they earn! Yet, they live like paupers, squirrelling their money away - and thus contributing nothing to the local or national economy - and just complain that they are being screwed!

  In the meantime, we are paying Y150 for a single piece of fruit or a few carrots, thousands of yen for rice, meat and fish...

  You want to stimulate the economy? Its easy! Cut farm subsidies, let food prices be subject the the rules of the free market just like any other product and free up the huge amount of money that the vast majority of the population are currently having to spend on feeding themselves!

  Not that farmers in the EU or US are much better. My brother, who is a farmer, for years was farming sheep despite the fact that he was loosing money hand-over-fist on them because the subsidies he was getting were far greater than the losses he was sustaining! Ridiculous!!

  It's about time the developed world at least (I can actually see a case for protecting farmers in the developing world, though) had the political courage to bring farmers into line with everybody else!!

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