Ag bill brimming with pork
POSTED: May 21, 2008
Most American farmers, most of the time, are good at growing things. So is Congress — but its green thumb involves spending on agriculture.
House and Senate negotiators have announced a compromise on a farm bill for 2009, though we suspect most taxpayers will wonder just where the “compromise” came into the picture. Once again, the farm bill is loaded down with fat, including subsidies for rich agriculture corporations.
A total of $300 billion in spending is called for under the bill. The math is easy: That’s $1,000 for each man, woman and child in the United States.
It also is a substantial addition to the nation’s growing, mind-boggling national debt. As this was written, the national debt stood at more than $9.3 trillion. Assuming that it takes you about a minute to read this, the debt will have increased by more than $1 million by the time you reach the end.
There have been calls to cut the fat out of federal farm spending for decades. Yet every year, members of Congress take a look at the bill and vote “yes.”
Even those who have claimed they oppose gigantic farm bills in the past, such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., now seem to see little wrong with this year’s spending proposal. Analysts already have pointed out the obvious: This is an election year and no one wants to upset the “farm vote.”
Next year, perhaps? We won’t be holding our breath, and we suspect most taxpayers won’t, either.
Member Comments
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Patrick
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05-21-08 1:25 PM
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About two-thirds of the bill would pay for nutrition programs such as food stamps and emergency food aid for the needy...It would expand a program to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to schoolchildren...Require that meats and other fresh foods carry labels with their country of origin.Stop allowing farmers to collect subsidies for multiple farm businesses... House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has said that the measure will drastically increase nutrition initiatives that will help 38 million U.S. families put food on their tables. She made it clear she would have preferred smaller farm subsidies, but deferred to some Democratic colleagues looking ahead to the fall campaign...Some Republicans criticized the mostly bipartisan and popular bill because a few home-state pet causes, including tax breaks for Kentucky racehorse owners and additional aid for salmon fishermen in the Pacific Northwest.
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Patrick
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05-21-08 1:08 PM
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1,000 for each man, woman and child in the United States...Not a bad price to have the all the food we need....why not mention how much the farmer's costs have increased....how much does it cost for fertilizer compared to last year...****panies like Monsanto(%1175 gain in 5 years) and Mosaic(%867 plus gain last in the last 3 years) thats where the pork is going...not to mention the price of fuel.
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