10 Myths About FDR and The Great Depression
5. Government Saved the Farmers
Government subsidies to the farmers are often cited as having “saved the farmers.” Contrary to popular belief, government programs under departments such as the USDA have been disastrous from the start. During the height of the crisis, attempts to control pricing to aid farmers led to the burning of thousands of tons of food. When Americans were suffering from want of food and starvation, liberals thought burning crops to fix prices was a valuable federal policy. Now we have a farm industry dependent on federal subsidies. That gives us artificially cheap goods like corn which flood into Mexican markets displacing Mexican farmers and contributing to the surge of illegal immigration north. FDR’s farm subsidies as the long-term effects they have wrought are nothing to praise.
