Reading/Writing Assignment

ECON 202

Reading/Writing Assignment

Due Friday, January 19, 2018

Worth 100 points

For this assignment you are going to examine an important policy issue: farm subsidies. Be sure to have reviewed pages 85-87 in your textbook on the topic of farm subsidies and Chapter 23 in your textbook and related handouts on Perfect Competition before completing this assignment.

Watch the video on how farm subsidies used to work at the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8G1HIlRppo

Then read the following selections which are referenced below.

To access the following articles, type in each of the following article titles into the Smart Search box within the CCBC Library website:

“Farm Subsidies: An Overview”

“Point: Farm Subsidies Are no Longer Necessary”

“Counterpoint: Farm Subsidies Are Needed for American Farmers”

Read the following selections on the Internet.

“Our Crazy Farm Subsidies Explained” at http://grist.org/food/our-crazy-farm-subsidies-explained/

“Betting the Farm” at http://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-farm-bill/

“Milking Taxpayers” at http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21643191-crop-prices-fall-farmers-grow-subsidies-instead-milking-taxpayers

“In Signing Farm Bill, Obama Extols Rural Growth” at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/08/us/politics/farm-bill.html

Respond to the questions on the next page with proper application of economic theory in a minimum of three solid paragraphs per question, and your answers to all of the questions in total should include a minimum of 1,500 words. To check your word count, select the text for each answer you provide. Microsoft Word will give a word count for the selected text.

Be sure to write your answers in your own words and to cite all sources used fully in APA or MLA style, including the textbook and the sources listed above as well as any other credible sources you choose to use to support your answers. The CCBC Library has a citation guide for APA style on their website at the following link: http://library.ccbcmd.edu/screens/web/apa_fall2015.pdf

Strive to write in a clear, logical and organized style using standards of proper written English. Use a word processing program to prepare your paper. Be sure to correct errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Be sure to proofread your paper carefully. It is helpful to print out a draft(s) and read it later, preferably the next day. Errors that were not apparent initially will be more obvious using this technique. Some people find it is helpful to read their paper aloud. They are able to identify errors by hearing them as well as seeing them.

Before submitting your assignment for grading, be sure to compare your paper against the grading rubric included with the assignment and make any needed adjustments accordingly. Attach your completed final product through the Assignments feature in Blackboard on or before Friday, January 19, 2018. Late papers will not be accepted.

Questions

• The most common example of a market with perfect competition is agriculture. How could farm subsidies distort a model of perfect competition? Explain.
• American corn farmers receive billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies each year. These subsidies allow them to sell their grain at prices below what it costs to produce it, particularly for export markets. How do U.S. corn subsidies hurt Mexican farmers?
• Summarize the arguments both in favor of and against eliminating farm subsidies. After your evaluation, where do you stand on this issue and why?