Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Subsidize me

Subsidize me

The illusion of a subsidy is a helping hand to a person or industry that needs it. Generosity is fine as long as its genuine. A subsidy by design is for control.

Farming and ranching is so burdened with government intervention that it is not a viable operation without government money, Behind every successful farm is a subsidy. For example you can't buy a farm for the current market price and run it at full capacity and make enough from your crops to make the payment. It doesn't matter weather its crops or livestock or a combination of both. The numbers don't work. Its not that farming has failed but government price fixing has tightened the a grip, giving them total control over the farming industry.

On the other end of the spectrum an industry with no government subsidy is the repair industry. I was a heavy duty mechanic for many years. I have on several occasions opened a shop and made money the first few months of operation. Basically you lease a building and hang up a sign, its more involved but the idea is no government intervention and the market adjusts itself. It has to, otherwise there would be no trucks to haul food to the stores or fuel to the gas station.

The government doesn't pay shops NOT to work on trucks, They do pay farmers not to farm, programs like CRP and several other similar programs do just this. Every industry is like a chain, if one link is disturbed it will affect the entire chain.

An appalling example of farm subsidies is during the great depression. The farms were being subsidized not to grow crops, Thereby decreasing supply, since demand stayed the same, it caused prices for crops to raise. The stated reason for subsidized farming was to allow them to remain in operation making enough money to afford the payments. For the man working in the city (if he was lucky enough to have a job) the taxes deducted from his pay were spent to insure his food prices were high. Artificially inflated beyond what a natural market would bear. Since food is a necessity he had little choice but to survive as best he could.

The key to successful farming or ranching without the controlling hand of uncle control freak is to own your ground outright, and creative income tax (no income tax is better, Wink-nudge) angles.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Barter

Barter

I'm a big fan of trading for goods. One needs to proceed with caution before agreeing to anything; also I think a person should always follow through with a commitment. If the other party brakes their part first, all bets are off. That being said, barter is a great tool for self progress.

Sometimes large companies will be glad to barter, if you find the right person to talk to. I have a rail-way that runs through my property. It needs to be fenced off, Montana law says they have to fence me out, Also they have to pay market price for any livestock they hit. They're a union outfit, so rapid response is not gonna happen. Its been two years in the works to do the fencing.

When I first moved here I built and repaired one mile of fencing (this was before I knew they were required to do it. Ignorance is expensive ( I may be able to collect for this its in the air right now). They contracted out for another section a mile long, but they get fined by there union for contracting outside their work force. Here is where the barter comes in.

I offered to build their mile of fence, with their materials in exchange for materials for another mile of fence. So they give me two miles of materials (costs is around 8000.00) I build a mile of fence and keep the materials for the other pastures I need to fence off. So basically I get payed 4k to do a 4 day job! They dont get fined this way, and I get what I need. WIN WIN!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

A change of pace, or rather content.

A change of pace, or rather content.

During the course of the ranch work, my mind drifts to other subjects. The work is labors and I can preform the functions as though I'm programed. When digging a hole or stringing fence wire it goes faster if I let my mind wander.

Anyways the thought I had was, to change the content of the blog. I'm going PRO. Obama!!!
Just kidding! Seriously though, I'm a survivalist I have been since I was a kid, I got in on the tail end of the cold war. That's the war Reagan won. Rather than survivalisum for the topic of my discussion or even plitics, the subject I could cover with a greater good, is ranching.

I noticed on other blogs people are miffed by retreat living, and supporting themselves after moving to a retreat. Here is the answer: dont move to a retreat. Move to a ranch.

I have been living on my place for 6 years now and for the last 4 years I have been able to scrape by with ranch earnings. I dont have to commute and the live stock is better company than coworkers.

Monday, June 21, 2010

A long time gone

A long time gone

Well I made it back to the ranch in my beloved Montana. Its been a full-time job if not two jobs getting things going here. I've been gone a year and several problems have developed in my absence, mostly rodent and weather related. No theft or vandalism has occurred. 

I'm still pissed I wasn't able to correct the problems I went to California to resolve in the first place. That state is controlled by ignorance and socialist treachery. Its scary to think trends from the west-coast tend to migrate to the inner states, Same with the East-coast, good states get pinched in the middle. Total control  by Liberal Socialist free-loaders is in all of our futures. If were lucky a total collapse will choke out the lazy slugs that NEED the government to survive. God knows they're running out of surfs to extrapolate social wealth from, this surf is tired.

On a side note I have been thinking: The problem with or countries direction is forged to curve in a socialistic direction because the socialists are the aggressors, us individuals are constantly defending our position being asked to compromise our rights. They claim its for the greater good, of course we know better. The point is their agenda is always to take from us, our agenda is we just want to be left alone to enjoy freedom or the fruits of our labor and dedication to labor. Sometimes I think the conservative mind set in this tug-a-war, is to give in, thinking they will then leave us alone. But a little is never enough, they are always back for more. They're like stray cats. Now health care, they want it so WE all must participate in their socialist utopia. I dont want to participate. I just want to be left alone. I dont want to support their health care and their addiction to anti-depressant medication. And all the ailments they will leach off government supplied "free" to them services.

Us conservatives wishing to restore our birth right to freedom, must take an aggressive approach in this situation, we need to put the socialists on the defensive. And take back whats ours.