Lancaster Farming. Saturday, August 25, 1973
"SSStt.
- abundant
quality food, P pounds of f«Viips
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person and enj y Americans, me
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American ag* * our people farm
art STand'still have starvation
i '?p V narrow the balance » dollar.
35 - SUSS f «---s
coSuSon to A ”®“tely”rewaSd’ T>> e
have seldom been adequate V w t han
55 * a small percentage
SfflCddovmtothem»on»etod s
h This booklet shows J am worid
tending upward here sm the worlds
and why our food u schmnz
best value.
Plentiful, low cost food makes
America the envy of the world
The astonishing productivity of the American
farmer has made the United States the envy
of the world. No other country can match us
in the variety, quantity and quality of our
food. It takes only 15.7 percent of our
disposable income to pay our food bill,
leaving the remainder for the other things that
have become so important to our way of life.
We can purchase more food with an hour of
labor than any other people on earth.. .and
that is the true measure of outstanding
performance. The American farmer has made
a tremendous contribution to the economy of
our country. His productivity has helped keep
the price of food far below the trend in wages
and other things we buy,
A.O. Smith Harvestore Products, Inc. wel
comes the opportunity to show that food is
fairly priced and that farmers’ hard work
and willingness to invest and take risks have
provided a higher standard of living for
everyone.
Farmers pay their full share
of county, state and federal taxes
Sponsored by
How Farm
The cash register in the supermarket is a
vigilant tax collector. In many states it levies a
direct sales tax on food that adds from 3 to
6% to the total on the grocery bill. It is
estimated that other taxes collected along the
food processing and marketing chain add 4
cents to the food dollar.
Taxes make up a big part of the farmer’s
cost of growing your food. Farm real estate
taxes add up to $2.7 billion per year. In 1971
alone these taxes jumped 6.4%. Property tax
payments are keeping rural America’s schools
and other institutions alive.
Farmers pay $2.5 billion in federal and
state income taxes money that serves sill of
the people, urban and rural. Farmers also pay
sales taxes totaling more than $350 million
and personal property tax of $450 million.
The food marketing industry has been paying
$2.2 billion a year in corporate income taxes.
This is about 2.8% of the food marketing bill.
Property taxes, social security, unemploy
ment compensation, state taxes and license
fees require an additional $3 billion per year.
Taxes are a big and growing item in
every family’s grocery bill.
If food had gone up as muck
as wages, round steak would
If food "prices had kept pace with average
wages you would see some tremendous in
creases. For example, the round steak selling
at $1.68 recently, would cost $2.67 per
pound. Eggs would be $1.61 per dozen
instead of 69 cents and a loaf of bread would
cost 38 cents instead of 25 cents. Other
comparisons are shown in the chart.
Average hourly rates in industry have in
creased from $1.52 per hour in 1952 to $3.65
in 1972. If food prices had gone up 2.4 times
during the 20 years to match wages, you -
would see $2,67 round steak and the other
projected prices in the chart.
In the 20 years between 1952 and 1972,
prices for food served at home advanced only
44%, Here is a comparison with wage in
creases of major industrial worker groups;
Make
Agriculture!* the **
to bolster the M-»- °
LANCASTER FAI
HARVESTORE E
Auto workers
Cons ruction worl
Rubl jr workers
Trans aortation wc
Railn ad workers
Tumhg the comj
had gore up at the
the aveage industri
per hour instead of 1
amount to a 39% cut
Half t f the increas
in the >ast five yei
going u] i 22%, wage;
in 1972 alone, wag
10% wh le food was
There a good reasc
betweet| food costs
to widea. In any con
will remain a top vali
we have D® en . „«-, $6.8 i
w as $2 This grow’
he higher m 197 3 . the
4mor
devaluation twcem „
Thi “? iStoyVtu
get bet f I ',°“ort to toP ° u
We must irnp , pated That
r^ g coSt $ r -
1980. . products c
A^ CU l o S ave the dollar,
pt° m “ff' ore -than »*
® pO T!,S ‘W”k «
USDA eto ttS the next *
P ° SS1 ,»hto meet the oil bil
Has lost its «
Western Europe
° or The one thing v
I® d ““ e aSi can equal
. try . for world meat
at e for high protei
unmatched a
ds ° nlogy intensive a{
teChn S in produc
mOU wed marketing,
SS?-mpto“ s ; (
Farm pioauctexpc
the economy beal ®
cost *