Agricultural Adjustment Act Pros And Cons

Agriculture is one of the main cornerstones of American history, from the Native Americans, to the tobacco fields of Jamestown, to our modern day lives. The United States agriculture system has gone through many changes, but few have been as important as the introduction of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of the New Deal and the later reversal of the act that came in the 1970s under the hand of Earl Butz, which remains in place today. The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) was put in place in 1933 to “rescue farmers from the disastrous effects of growing too much food” (Ganzel, Pollan 49). Butz’s plan, on the other hand, reversed the AAA and worked to drive down prices and increase the output of farmers (Pollan 52). The policies had both advantages and disadvantages, but it seemed as if everyone one benefited, more or less, from both. That is not wholly true, however, as all parties, the consumer, the farmer, and the …show more content…
Farmers like George Naylor would prefer the days of the AAA over today’s system but they make do with what they have (Pollan 53). In many ways, the former system was better, but the current model provides benefits for the farmer. Even though the basic selling price is not nearly enough, through subsidies the farmer makes his wage. These wages are, admittedly, poor, and often cannot help cover other debts related to their farming endeavors. In many cases, farmers who cannot make ends meet are being forced off of their land, but truth be told, the job of the farmer will become practically obsolete. With the technology of today and the rate at which it is increasing farming will become a mechanized industry. Our nation’s current farmers rely on subsidies to make ends meet, but also to keep their