"Death Taxes and Young Farm Families"
I must admit that I obtained this photo on the World Wide Web. It shows a young farmer with his family who was recognized as an outstanding farmer in Alabama. Have we here in Georgia already driven our young farmers out of business? I could not find any young farmer pictures on any Georgia related websites. I also realize that the "Death Tax" is a federal issue.
I know that many citizens feel that our Federal Government should keep the so called Death Tax on the books because who has an estate worth more than $2,000,000.00. A recent election campaign ads have pointed out that this is a tax that should be kept because it only impacts the wealthy. Sounds simple enough; however we may be cutting off our nose to safe our face. I know for a fact that there are many young farm families and some not so young that have the potential of owning estates well worth over Two Million Dollars. These farmers are providing our food items and clothing items and have great investments in Rich Soil and Equipment. It is true that most of these food and cotton farmers are in huge debt just to allow us in the USA to enjoy the highest standard of living as regards food expenditures. How much fertile land at $4,000.00 an acre can a farmer obtain for a mere $2,000,000.00? I do not know about the price of Soil in the rest of the World, but I do know for a fact that fertile Soil in our USA Grain Belt is often on the market and even sold for $4,000.00 per acre. The answer to my previous question is 500 acres. Now, add in a few pieces of Farm Equipment and you will quickly have an estate with the potential value in excess of the Two Million. Now, I would hate to see all these young farmers and some not so young work all their lives providing food and cotton for my lifestyle while they are not able to pass on the fruits of their labors to their heirs without incurring a heavy tax burden. I know that I would appreciate it very much if our Government appreciated the labors of our food providers and cared enough to insure the citizens of the future the ability to procure food items in abundance and low prices as we now enjoy. This concept realizes that these young farmers realize enough profits from their years of labor to have actually paid for their investments in Soil and equipment. Did you know that a four year old grain combine, John Deere Model 9650STS with 1631 hours on the engine can be purchased for the sum of $116,000.00 as close by as Cairo, Georgia. This is the machine that you need to harvest a crop. I could list several hundred more thousand dollars in equipment to get the crop into the Soil.
For most of us city dwellers, myself included, the value of our homes is far less than two pieces of used farm equipment. I can not comprehend how anyone would want to continue the Death Tax!!!! I know that I desire to continue to enjoy fine U. S. A. grown food items and I also think that most of us do. Can we continue to enjoy the most economical food stuffs on planet Earth while driving the means of agricultural production out of the reach of the average Farmer. I have heard the talk among my peers in the urban areas about how wealthy Farmers are. It is true that they have plenty of assets, but does the average consumer know, much less even appreciate the overhead that all of our farmers incur to provide us with our foodstuffs. I recall a comment of two years ago, when I complained to my Farmer Sibling in the Midwest, about how high Natural Gas prices had risen. He quickly informed me that his 2004 Natural Gas bill for two weeks of operation to dry the corn was $35,000.00. This sum was twice the amount he had paid in 2003. You can be sure that I have since not complained to any of my Midwest Siblings engaged in agriculture about any high prices we city folks must face.
I know that many citizens feel that our Federal Government should keep the so called Death Tax on the books because who has an estate worth more than $2,000,000.00. A recent election campaign ads have pointed out that this is a tax that should be kept because it only impacts the wealthy. Sounds simple enough; however we may be cutting off our nose to safe our face. I know for a fact that there are many young farm families and some not so young that have the potential of owning estates well worth over Two Million Dollars. These farmers are providing our food items and clothing items and have great investments in Rich Soil and Equipment. It is true that most of these food and cotton farmers are in huge debt just to allow us in the USA to enjoy the highest standard of living as regards food expenditures. How much fertile land at $4,000.00 an acre can a farmer obtain for a mere $2,000,000.00? I do not know about the price of Soil in the rest of the World, but I do know for a fact that fertile Soil in our USA Grain Belt is often on the market and even sold for $4,000.00 per acre. The answer to my previous question is 500 acres. Now, add in a few pieces of Farm Equipment and you will quickly have an estate with the potential value in excess of the Two Million. Now, I would hate to see all these young farmers and some not so young work all their lives providing food and cotton for my lifestyle while they are not able to pass on the fruits of their labors to their heirs without incurring a heavy tax burden. I know that I would appreciate it very much if our Government appreciated the labors of our food providers and cared enough to insure the citizens of the future the ability to procure food items in abundance and low prices as we now enjoy. This concept realizes that these young farmers realize enough profits from their years of labor to have actually paid for their investments in Soil and equipment. Did you know that a four year old grain combine, John Deere Model 9650STS with 1631 hours on the engine can be purchased for the sum of $116,000.00 as close by as Cairo, Georgia. This is the machine that you need to harvest a crop. I could list several hundred more thousand dollars in equipment to get the crop into the Soil.
For most of us city dwellers, myself included, the value of our homes is far less than two pieces of used farm equipment. I can not comprehend how anyone would want to continue the Death Tax!!!! I know that I desire to continue to enjoy fine U. S. A. grown food items and I also think that most of us do. Can we continue to enjoy the most economical food stuffs on planet Earth while driving the means of agricultural production out of the reach of the average Farmer. I have heard the talk among my peers in the urban areas about how wealthy Farmers are. It is true that they have plenty of assets, but does the average consumer know, much less even appreciate the overhead that all of our farmers incur to provide us with our foodstuffs. I recall a comment of two years ago, when I complained to my Farmer Sibling in the Midwest, about how high Natural Gas prices had risen. He quickly informed me that his 2004 Natural Gas bill for two weeks of operation to dry the corn was $35,000.00. This sum was twice the amount he had paid in 2003. You can be sure that I have since not complained to any of my Midwest Siblings engaged in agriculture about any high prices we city folks must face.
We must repeal and eliminate the "Death Tax" for the small business person. We all must realize this fact before we drive the means of food production out of business.
Thank You.
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