Reply #22: Big Sugar is the poster child for corporate welfare.

[seasat]

There are two privately owned companies that run the industry in S Florida. They bribe federal politicians to give them huge subsidies. Their profit is largely based on subsidies both direct and indirect through tariffs. They basically take our money, skim a little off the top to bribe elected officials, then keep the rest as profits. They've used their subsidy money to block restoration of the Everglades because they are the major polluters of the 'Glades and it would require them to reform their farming practices. They spent over 6.5 million to swift boat our Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Jim Davis, last election because he would have actually tried to get the Everglades restoration going again. They spent millions trying to lobby the World Health Organization because the WHO stated that children need less refined sugar in their diets. They wanted them to drop all references to that in their nutrition recommendations. The Fanjul family that controls the Flo-Sun sugar corp are Cuban expats were the big sugar barons in Cuba, pre-Castro. They've lobbied to keep the strictest US embargo policies on Cuba in place. Personally, I'd love for congress to drop all subsidies for them and remove all tariffs. This is one industry in Florida, I'd love to see go under.