Farm Subsidies - A Necessary Evil? Subsidies are payments, economic concessions, or privileges given by the government to favor businesses or consumers. In the 1930s, subsidies were designed to favor agriculture. John Steinbeck expressed his dislike of the farm subsidy system of the United States in his book, The Grapes of Wrath. In that book, the government gave money to farms so that they would grow and sell a certain amount of crops. As a …showed first 75 words of 1182 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1182 total…that can deal with the problems of the farmer, subsidies will continue to be used. Works Cited Blanpied, Nancy. Farm Policy. Congressional Quarterly: Washington D.C., 1984. Fox, Michael. Agricide. Schoken Books: New York, 1986. Long, Robert Emmet. The Farm Crisis. Wilson Co.: New York, 1987. MacFadyen, J. Tevere. Gaining Ground. Holt, Reinhart, and Winston: New York, 1966. Reische, Diana. U.S. Agricultural Policy. Wilson Co.: New York, 1966. Solkoff, Joel. The Politics of Food. Sierra Club Books: San Francisco, 1985.