Work in progress — cycles are added one at a time. Every quote is machine-verified against an archived source; follow the links to read it.
Issues › Agriculture
Farm prices and agricultural surplus
Also known as: Farm relief (1920-1940); Farm subsidies (1950-)
| Cycle | Candidate | Position | Solution | Strength | Attribution | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic) | Restore purchasing power to the farming half of the nation | Make restoration of farm purchasing power an essential part of a national recovery program, on the theory that industrial employment depends on farmers being able to buy. Method left unspecified in April; developed into … | directional_stance | candidate_direct | kept |
| 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic) | Raise staple farm prices by a tariff-equivalent benefit plus voluntary production control, at no cost to the Treasury | Add to the world price of staple commodities "the amount of a reasonable tariff protection," giving agriculture the protection industry enjoys; in exchange farmers agree to plan production to reduce surpluses and end dum… | specific_pledge | candidate_direct | kept? |
| 1932 | Herbert Hoover (Republican) | Farm prices can be restored only by general recovery and markets — no production control, no subsidies; repeal Farm Board stabilization | Repeal the Farm Board's stabilization (price-support purchase) provisions while keeping its cooperative-marketing work; oppose any bureaucracy controlling farm production or subsidies; rely on tariff protection, credit, … | specific_pledge | candidate_direct | not_applicable |
| 1936 | Alf Landon (Republican) | Cash benefits on the domestically consumed portion of export crops to make the tariff effective, limited to the family-type farm; no scarcity program, no processing tax | Replace the AAA/soil-conservation 'subterfuge' with payments giving growers of hogs, wheat, cotton and tobacco 'an American and not a foreign price', capped at family-farm production levels, financed within a balanced bu… | specific_pledge | candidate_direct | not_applicable |
| 1936 | Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic) | Continue soil conservation and domestic allotment payments; end ruinous surpluses; commodity loans on seasonal surpluses | Keep the 1936 conservation-payment program, favor production 'of all the market will absorb' plus a reserve, judicious commodity loans on seasonal surpluses, and federal assistance to balance production with demand. | directional_stance | candidate_direct | kept |