Government cheese or… queso from the big cheese?

Going back at least almost 100 years the U.S. government has been buying commodities that were made in excess quantities and distributing them to charities and low-income groups. For instance, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been buying foods since at least after the Agricultural Act of 1935 was passed. Surplus dairy products were bought and used for relief programs during the Great Depression. But what caused the government to store billions of pounds of cheese back in the 1980s? Some history first. Just like today, the 1970s and 1980s saw inflation rates spike. High food prices meant millions of poor Americans were left hungry. In particular, there was a shortage of dairy products. A low supply coupled with high demand meant higher prices than just a few years ago. By some accounts, dairy prices were 30% higher in late 1973 than just a few months before.  To reduce price levels, President Nixon removed some import quotas. These lower prices impacted farmers’ incomes, to

Welcome, Bienvenue, Bienvenido

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I am going to start off with a post on what this blog will be about. But first, you may be wondering the significance of the blog name: Only Trivia Fans. Yes, it is a play of that way more famous site that will not be mentioned. Here’s a hint: just remove the word “Trivia” from the blog name and it should ring a bell. πŸ˜‰


Like that other site, we hope to bring fun and entertainment your way. Another objective is to highlight topics that may not be well-known to most people but are, hopefully, fascinating. The inspiration of the blog posts will come from my encounters in life, whether it be from reading web articles, books, Twitter, real life, travels and so on. 


By creating these blog posts, I also aim to practice and improve my writing. The last time I wrote regularly was in my first full-time job, publishing articles about twice a month. By creating this blog, I expect to write at least on a semi-regular basis.


Now on to search for a topic that I will write about in the following blog article. See you next time. 

 

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