Post by Liberals are VERMIN!Canada is realizing that addressing the trade imbalance will require the dismantling of socialist "pets" like the wheat and milk boards which have resulted in Canadians paying 2-3 TIMES as much for staples as Americans, for 50 years.
I guess we could do that . . . but then what should we demand from the United States for their subsidies to very, very profitable industries that want to continue exporting us their foods and goods?
Like this:
https://www.thebalance.com/government-subsidies-definition-farm-oil-export-etc-3305788
Between 1995 and 2010, farm subsidies had ballooned to $52 billion a year on average. Of this, more than 6 percent went toward four "junk food" components: corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, corn starch and soy oils. Many people wondered why the federal government was subsidizing food that contributed to America's obesity problem.
During the recession, as lawmakers looked for ways to cut the budget, many asked, "Do corn growers need subsidies?" In 2011, a record 14 billion bushels of corn were produced. In 2012, 94 million acres of corn were scheduled to be planted. This was more than in any year since World War II.
By 2017, large farms dominated the industry. Farms generating $1 million or more in sales produced two-thirds of the nation's agricultural output. Only 4 percent of farms were that large. Big farms gobbled up small ones that couldn't compete. They relied on economies of scale to produce more food at a cheaper price. That sent prices down even more, putting more small farmers out of business.
The 2012 budget proposed a 22 percent cut to farm subsidies, including the $5 billion direct payment program. Half of farmers receiving subsidies made more than $100,000 a year. Between 1995 and 2016, the top 10 percent of farmers received 77 percent of subsidies.
The top 1 percent received 26 percent, or $1.7 million per recipient. The top recipient was Deline Farms Partnership, which received $4 million in 2016.
The House budget also proposed $180 billion in cuts to the farm subsidy program. But $133 billion of the cuts were to the food stamp program, affecting 8 million consumers, not farmers.
In March 2012, President Obama called for an end to the $4 billion in oil industry subsidies. Some estimates indated that the real level of oil industry subsidies is higher, between $10 and $40 billion. At the same time, oil company profits benefited when oil prices reached a record of $145 a barrel in 2008.
The oil industry subsidies have a long history in the United States. As early as World War I, the government stimulated oil and gas production in order to ensure a domestic supply.
In 1995, Congress established the Deepwater Royalty Waiver Program. It allowed oil companies to drill on federal property without paying royalties. This encouraged the expensive form of extraction since oil was only $18 a barrel.
The Treasury Department reported that the federal government has missed $50 billion in foregone revenue over the program's lifetime. It argued that this may no longer be needed now that deepwater extraction has become profitable.
(Source: "Federal Energy Subsidies," Energy Information Administration. “Oil Companies Have a Rich History of U.S. Subsidies,” Los Angeles Times, May 25, 2010.)