House Agriculture Subcommittee Mired in the Past
Votes to Renew Unfair, Wasteful Crop Subsidy Policy
Earlier today, the House subcommittee with responsibility for federal crop subsidy policy voted to extend for another five years the very same dysfunctional subsidy policies that were put in place by the widely discredited 2002 Farm Bill.
Today’s vote is Exhibit A in the case for not letting farm subsidy policies be decided by the subsidized. The subcommittee asked itself: Is the current inequitable crop subsidy system the best that we can do with billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money every year?
And the subcommittee answered, unanimously: Yup!
The subcommittee couldn’t even bring itself to protect taxpayers by tightening limits on federal payments to the largest, wealthiest subsidized farming operations in the country. If anyone wants to see who the very biggest winners were today, go to the list.
This vote should serve as a rallying cry for everyone who seeks reform of our broken federal farm subsidy system.
Districts represented by the 18 subcommittee members collected $8.2 billion in crop subsidies between 2003 and 2005, almost a quarter of all crop subsidies. Here's the breakdown.
The rhetoric we heard today was all about the need to preserve the status quo in our farm subsidy system in order to feed and clothe America—and the world.
The reality we saw today was the farm subsidy lobby once again crowding around the government trough.
Oddly enough, our analysis shows that a number of subcommittee members who voted to extend the status quo have, by doing so, almost certainly voted against the interests of their own constituents, who would benefit from reforms to make the programs fairer and more equitable. Instead, this bill will continue to funnel over 90 percent of farm subsidies to the producers of just five favored crops.
The subcommittee has guaranteed that those who have been the big winners in the farm subsidy sweepstakes in the past--selected billionaires, plantation-scale farm operations, absentee landlords and others—will be big winners for another five years.
Comments
Our Farm Bill is broken. It has become welfare to the family farmer. These farmers who were graciously left this land by their fathers are utilizing the farm subsidies to maintain a way of life that our nation, like it or not, is moving away from. Our nation has moved to big business in all other aspects of day to day life. It has put the small business man out of business. This has provided our public with the low cost affordable goods we enjoy. Walmart, Meyer, Target come in and small business goes out. Mega farms produce our food, not the small family farmer.
Our farm bill needs to be aimed at concervation and providing food for the needy, not welfare for the family farmer. The farmers today are spending their energy in finding ways to increase their subsidies - They should be spending their energy in developing ways that their land can produce an income, but why should they. There are many ways such as an Equine Boarding Facility or such that can produce a sustainable income.
The tax payer should not be punished into supporting a way of life that a handful are enjoying. The farmers need to be taken off this dependency and forced to learn to use their land wisely.
Posted by: Edna Reid | June 22, 2007 10:22 AM
Farm subsidies are welfare for the big and rich farmers. I see no names on the list for the small family farms which have almost become extinct. I grew up as a farmers daughter, the middle of 8 kids. We worked hard as family members to milk cows when it was 90 degrees or 20 below zero. We helped with the plowing in the spring, we always had to help with the haying and it took a whole team of us to get the job done. I helped with all farm chores when I was 12. I learned cooking and what it takes to feed a large family to survive. That being the chickens we fed, picking up eggs, cleaning the hen house and butchering chickens every summer to helping tend a huge garden and orchard and mowing with an old reel mower besides to keep everything tidy. We all worked hard as kids.
I don't see that in farmers today. Many live in town today and run the roads in their big trucks, many times a day. I still live in farm country. There are fields surrounding us...we see them plant in the spring, harvest in the fall and have little to do in between. Big farmers today do nothing to earn the subsidies they get. I've been to the site enough to know who gets what and it's shameful that the hard working taxpayers have to fun a ridiculous program because the politicians in Washing ton don't have the balls to say NO! Enough waste has happened since this program failed to close loopholes...
Posted by: Elaine Schwarzhoff | June 22, 2007 11:24 AM