Government Money vs. the Individual — Ditch the Subsidies, Grow [and Do] What Actually Works. Sooner or later, relying on a safety net will show its weakness, because safety nets eventually shatter. By Joel Salatin (12/05/25)

theepochtimes.com/opini…

Full-time farmer, motivational speaker, and businessman extraordinaire Joel Salatin explains why government incentives, along with their carrots and sticks, eventually break down, causing people to make bad decisions.

His advice applies to all activities, from farming to healthcare to education and more. People must wean themselves off government subsidies and do what’s best for them, their families, and their businesses.

Government dependency is an insidious form of slavery — both to the dependents and to taxpayers — and we don’t like it one bit.

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Summary (Grok ai, edited; image from article)

Government subsidies distort farmers' decisions, leading to overreliance on certain crops such as soybeans (which are in oversupply). Salatin advocates for market-driven choices to foster innovation and sustainability.

Incentives for Decision-Making

Government uses punishments for “bad” decisions or incentives for “good” ones. Appropriate clichés include carrots and sticks or honey and vinegar.

Farmers decide daily on crops or livestock based on personal preferences, market demands, and information from sources such as social media. But they’re also heavily influenced by government subsidies (now called crop insurance): if the government helps pay for it, then “why not?”

ED NOTE
 
When government subsidies (tax breaks) were removed from electric vehicle (EV) purchases, guess what happened? EV sales dropped because many consumers didn’t want to pay for products that are otherwise impractical or expensive without subsidies. Without subsidies, car makers now are incentivized to build better products that people actually want and can afford. 

The same argument applies to subsidized health care, public education systems, food programs, and other government goodies: Overused, underperforming, uncompetitive, uninspired, and costly to taxpayers.

Role of Decisional Consequences

Decisional consequences drive personal and societal development. Failing to bear costs of bad decisions or not incentivizing good ones hinders progress. Public policies often ignore this by creating safety nets that become massive and bureaucratic.

Examples of Bad Government Safety Nets

• Health insurance: Evolved from wage freezes, morphed to the expensive problematic Affordable Care Act (which is anything but affordable for most).

• Public education: From local schools to federal programs like No Child Left Behind, 46 percent of children now score below reading standards.

• Social Security: Started with a 1 percent payroll tax but the tax expanded and Social Security now yields lower returns than equivalent stock market investments.

Bottom line: Government programs reduce individual caution by providing bailouts.

ED NOTE 
Additional examples: SNAP (food stamp) benefits; government funded and mandated affordable housing; drug addiction and homeless solutions; drug and vaccine subsidies; and countless other programs. 

Programs that use other people’s money (taxes) or involve lobbyists, government + non-profit organizations, corporations, and other power players inevitably lead to fraud, dependency, non-optimal results, and waste of taxpayer money.

Less Government Involvement = Better and More Creative Solutions

Agricultural Subsidies and Soybean Farmers

Crop insurance, originating during the Depression, supports six commodities: corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, rice, sugarcane.

This insurance influences field-level decisions on what to grow.

• Soybean farmers face $90 per acre losses in 2025 due to oversupply and China's reduced purchases (23 percent of 2024 U.S. crop) amid tariffs.

• Land suitable for soybeans could grow alternatives.

Salatin’s Approach and Recommendations to Farmers

• Avoid government funds and use compost instead of chemical fertilizers. You thus will unaffected by price spikes from external events such as Ukraine war.

• Wean off subsidies and opt for creative decisions.

• Switch to cattle (or other products), which are in short supply with soaring prices.

• Use managed perennial polycultures for stable profits.

Related:

• Polyface Farm (link below):