Veronique de Rugy in Farming Tax Dollars:
The most recent version of the near $1 trillion farm bill is on the move again after being held up for a few months in the House at the end of last year. It has now passed out of the House and Senate agriculture committees. The Senate is supposed to take up the bill next week, and it could then be brought to the floor in June. So now is a good time to remind everyone of a few reasons why we should end all farm subsidies once and for all.
Via Newmarksdoor.com.
He goes on to tell us that it "will cost almost $1 trillion over ten years with roughly 20 percent in the form of farm subsidies for special interests and high-income farmers," in spite of claims that it will save money.
Furthermore, crop insurance is the program through which farmers get insured against small drops in revenue, however, 2/3rds of the farmers' crop insurance premiums are paid by taxpayers.
Then there's the sugar industry. The sugar quotas in place kept in place by the USDA cause Americans to pay twice as much as the world price for sugar. So poor Americans have to seek help through the food stamp programs which is also part of the Farm Bill. We would be laughing at this irony if it were some socialist nation doing it, but the joke's on us.
As Mr. de Rugy says, "It is time to put an end to farm subsidies, all of them, once and for all." Unfortunately, the political system is in place to perpetuate this sort of thing. So it will take diligence and perseverance to get it changed.
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