Raisin Wars

The government has been forcibly taking crops from farmers since the late 1930's and has been paying them less than the fair market value. Much less!  And the farmers had no choice in the matter... the government acted like a bully stealing another kid's lunch money. The raisin reserve program (yes, there is such a thing) was started after the Great Depression, to guarantee food in desperate times and to keep the prices higher. Due to the program, tons of raisins were wasted. California raisin farmers, Marvin and Laura Horne, who were also fined nearly $700,000, had enough. They took the government to court. They lost. They appealed and took it to the appellate court. They lost again. Now all they could do was hope that the U.S. Supreme Court would hear their case. It did.

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The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the farmers by an 8-1 margin! The court said that the program was unfair and outdated. The court also said that it was unconstitutional because of government officials seizing property without fully compensating the farmers. The fines, totaling $695,000, were dropped,
and the government was forced to pay the Hornes the market value for the raisins taken. Yay! This is a huge win for farmers and citizens in general. The big bully government shouldn't be able to push around its citizens whenever it wants! And now, thanks to the big government watchdog (the U.S. Supreme Court), there are fewer people for the government to take advantage of.

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