“Congress can still act decisively this year to right a wrong that is hurting both small American farmers and the poorest people on the planet,†former President Jimmy Carter wrote wrote in a Washington Post commentary about the U.S. farm bill.
He noted how the original farm bill was passed during the Great Depression to alleviate the suffering of America’s family farmers. “Tragically, in its current form this legislation does not fulfill its original purposes but instead encourages excess production while channeling enormous government payments to the biggest producers,†Carter wrote. “This product of powerful lobbyists now punishes small-scale farmers in the United States and is devastating to families in many of the world’s least affluent countries.â€
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
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26 Comments
This has only been known since like forever – at least in my life time.
That taking care of the small farmer has been totally blind-sided by the huge Agri-industry and Corporate Farmers who most likely don’t even live in the same state where the subsidies are given.
The family farms are almost all but gone and a lot of the blame can be placed on the Agri-Bullies like Cargill and other giants who squeeze out small farmers and steal the subsidies for their corporate pockets.
Farm subsidies.
The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
Corporate Welfare of the worst kind. When business decisions are based on how much money said business can soak from the taxpayer, something is wrong.
Why on earth dems lose to farmers is beyond me, as most farmers fare better under democrats in office. So ya know, if they lose out, it’s their own fault.
One of the few times Jimmy Carter has made sense.
So? The rich get richer. Who didn’t know that?
The roots of the “FREE CHEESE” program is planted in the farm bill. Follow the cheese, people.You will be amazed at the huge waste in Government. I’ve posted the cheese’s expensive path lining everyone’s pockets with greener pastures.
All because of the well intended socialist tendencies of man.
It’s the kind of thing, which started with someone like J R or Capn saying “you greedy rich person, can’t you HELP our poor farmers?”
Kansas–
Dang, man! I had to read the sig line twice just to make sure it was you.
So you agree with Carter and us liberals that government money flowing to big corporations (welfare for the rich) is bad.
Why do you keep voting for the Republic party then?
AmWay–
Wrong again. I don’t say “make the rich help the poor?”
I say “make government stop helping the rich and start helping the poor.”
Much more of our tax dollars go to weathy corporations and the people who run them than go to poor people.
How do you think Dick Cheney made 36 million dollars in six months working for Halliburton?
All Halliburton does these days is score big gov’t contracts–and Cheney as a former Secr’y of War helped them go from a little oil equipment company to a huge pig feeding at the gov’t trough.
He was worth every penny to Halliburton: they paid him millions and he brought in BILLONS of your and my money.
By the way, according to Bill Roy’s article the other day, 90 percent of wealth in the US is owned by 1 PERCENT of the population.
If you think that’s healthy for our country, keep voting for the Republic Party.
The farm subsidies should be seriously reworked in favor of the smaller family farms and to heck with big ag.
The “free” market the right so loves is helping here.
More and more produce is locally grown and sold at local collectives.THAT should be subsidized.
CapnYour success in life depends on what YOU do.The “concentration of wealth” line is envy and socialism and communism and a very stupid policy goal to target.
On the farm subsidy issue, I am a bit conflicted.
The fact is, our food prices are very stable, in this country. Shortages are rare. Starvation, in America, is unheard of.
Liberals like to look at the direct subsidies, to producers.
Please look, also, at WIC Voucher programs and Food Stamps. These programs should go through the same “Welfare Reform” as Clinton and a Republican Congress did, with AFDC.
On corporate subsidies, I do wonder why corn farmers need any subsidy, what with the Ethanol corn craze going on right now.
Tom Harkin, Democrat, Iowa.
Deal with him.
Until then, nothing will change.
Kansas–
Dang, man! I had to read the sig line twice just to make sure it was you.
So you agree with Carter and us liberals that government money flowing to big corporations (welfare for the rich) is bad.
Why do you keep voting for the Republic party then?
Posted by: CapnAmerica | December 14, 2007 at 09:06 AM
Actually, it’s a Bi-Partisan soaking of the tax payer. In 1996 when the Farm Payment Plan changed, Daschle and that Congressman from Arkansas (forgot his name) took a sweetheart deal from Gingrich and Company so the legislation could pass.
It was a big hoodoo in Texas, when rice farmers who got older and no longer wanted to farm, rented out to sharecroppers.
However, they found that instead of getting 40 bucks an acre from the sharecropper, they could set back in comfort with 125 bucks an acre from Uncle Sugar. Additionally, they could throw some grazing cattle out their and call their former farm land a feed lot for cattle without any penalty.
Even more maddening is that one doesn’t even have to be a farmer. You just have to buy land that was recently used for farming and you inherit the farm subsidies.
That’s where the fat cat land investors come in. They can buy up small farmer lands as they retire, go broke or move on and become wealth off the government.
There was one case in Houston where an 87 year old woman was getting 800K a year from farm subsidies. She never drove a tractor or was behind a plow her entire life.
So yeah, I don’t like the subsidy deals and it is a bi-partisan money sink of tax payer dollars.
Lastly, the subsidies probably raise the price of food rather than lower it as there is less on the market.
Actually,Unintended consequences are everywhere, when you study farm policy.
I don’t like the current system, but if you place size restrictions on farms, all you do is employ attorneys.
Carving up a ranch or farm into smaller pieces, with separate title to each, with different corporate boards, or seperate trust accounts, would not be that difficult.
On the other hand, completely doing away with farm subsidies would probably get rid of the “small farmer”.
I’ve told Joe Williams several times that it’s the big corporate farms getting the huge subsidies, not the small family farms.
How do I know? I was a part of one of the latter for 20 years.
I have no desire to become terribly wealthy. Most who are have trod on others to get where they are, if not out and out cheated. I can’t do that.
Econ, WIC is available to anyone with babies and small children, no income limits.
I picked up commodities a couple of times, shortly after my divorce when things were really tight, and I never once got any cheese. Beans and more beans, yes. Powdered milk, yes. Dried prunes, yes. But not a single shred of cheese.
“On the other hand, completely doing away with farm subsidies would probably get rid of the “small farmer”.”
That’s probably very true, Econ. I *think* subsidies were contiued in the 70’s because of the price most crops were selling for. Remember “parity”? I know at that time that wheat was selling for barely little more than it did in the 30’s, while the price of equipment, seed, fertilizer, and fuel had greatly increased.
Wrong again. I don’t say “make the rich help the poor?”
I say “make government stop helping the rich and start helping the poor.”
Posted by: CapnAmerica | December 14, 2007 at 09:11 AM
Who do you think the Government gets money FROM Capn?
Individuals in the Top 50% pay 97% of all Federal Income taxes!
Any Government program you advocate for the poor, is causing the TRANSFER OF MONEY from the Rich to the Poor.
AMWAY! Quick, find that Free Government Money Tree!!!!
Don’t get me started Max.
That FREE CHEESE and FREE MONEY is the biggest crap a liberal socialist can put out. (And that is what Capn is advocating.)
The horror of the farm bill is another fine example of what will happen when we let politicians start to manage our healthcare. Heck, they cannot even MANAGE to pass the 2008 appropriations – and we are just about to enter the second quarter!
Won’t it be great when Uncle Sam is your HMO? Won’t it be grand to see the different social democrats add to the program, take from the program, fine-tune the program, with each new passing Congress?
Just like doing the 1040 next month takes hours and hours to research and read all the regulations and forms and pubs – wait until you need your body worked on~!
I’m from the gubbermint. I’m here to help.
And the farm bill helpful program for the family farmer, has advanced with socialist plundering to help the corporate American farmer too.
Just like doing the 1040 next month takes hours and hours to research and read all the regulations and forms and pubs – wait until you need your body worked on~!Posted by: American Way | December 14, 2007 at 01:33 PM
It will be worse this year. Congress is likely to pass some last minute tax changes regarding AMT and college tuition.
The tax forms won’t be revised until March.
We’ll have to study up on last minute changes online at http://www.irs.org or wait until March/April to file our tax returns.
Shall I bring up Max’s Modified Flat Tax Plan again?
You could file your income taxes on a postcard. It will take you longer to find the stamp, lick it, and stick it to the postcard then it will to fill out the form.
Max’s Modified Flat Tax Plan
Your Income: $XYour Deduction: $25,000Your IRA Deduction: $Y
Your Taxable Income: $ X – $25,000 – Y(If < $0, enter $0)
Your Tax: 20% times Your Taxable Income
Agree with most of you post Max (and save the flat tax until January. Everyone will be in the right frame of mind during tax time)
But I will be real surprised if they revise the AMT. It’s a great revenue generator. And with all the libs on the debt bandwagon now (like cons used to be), they won’t push it. If they did, they would need off setting tax increases. Those scare me even more!
It’s one of the classic great games for politicians. Speak with anger and convictions against something to look good. But then don’t do a damn thing, and blame the other party.
Works for libs and cons alike!
Examples of Max’s Modified Flat Tax (all assume no IRA/401k/Keough deductions for simplicity):
If I earn:
$25,000 or less, I pay $0 tax. Effective tax rate is 0%.
$30,000, I pay (30,000 – 25,000 * .2) $1,000 in taxes. Effective tax rate is 3.3%.
$40,000, I pay (40,000 – 25,000 * .2) $3,000 in taxes. Effective tax rate is 7.5%.
$50,000, I pay (50,000 – 25,000 * .2) $5,000 in taxes. Effective tax rate is 10%.
$75,000, I pay $10,000 in taxes. Effective tax rate is 13.3%.
$100,000, I pay $15,000 in taxes. Effective tax rate is 15%.
$150,000, I pay $25,000 in taxes. Effective tax rate is 16.6%.
$250,000, I pay $45,000 in taxes. Effective tax rate is 18%.
$500,000, I pay $95,000 in taxes. Effective tax rate is 19%.
$1,000,000, I pay $195,000 in taxes. Effective tax rate is 19.5%.
$10,000,000, I pay $1,995,000 in taxes. Effective tax rate is 19.55%.
NOTE: This is a modified flat tax. Note the PROGRESSION in Effective Tax rates as your income rises!
Also note, the rich with tax shelters will be paying taxes on all income (except Social Security which was already taxed). No more tax shelters!
But I will be real surprised if they revise the AMT. It’s a great revenue generator. And with all the libs on the debt bandwagon now (like cons used to be), they won’t push it. If they did, they would need off setting tax increases. Those scare me even more!Posted by: American Way | December 14, 2007 at 02:54 PM
——————————————————————–4 million Americans paid the AMT in 2006.
21 Million Americans will pay an average tax INCREASE of $2,000 in addition to their usual tax, if the AMT is not fixed.
An estimated 25 million Americans will pay AMT in 2007 if the Lib Socialist Dem Congress fails to fix the AMT tax increase.
The Dems are worried about losing the additonal $50 BILLION in increased taxes the AMT will steal this year.
So under the Dem “Pay as you Go” hoax, the Dems have to find another way to increase taxes by $50 BILLION, if they fix the AMT.
The Dems could still keep their Pay/Go promise, if they could fix AMT and give-up on their $50 BILLION tax increase.
PREDICTION: The Lib Socialist Dem Congress will not fix the AMT.
The Lib Dem Majority will raise taxes by $50 Billion in 2007.
And this is just a small sign of bigger tax hikes to come, if the Dems get the Whitehouse too.
Max’s formula includes deductions. when I declare income from a small business, even it is is not profitable, i can deduct all kinds of things that I use in my everyday life anyway as business deductions. lets say that I decide to sell stuff on Ebay and declare the proceeds as required by law. I can be going to Aunt Bee’s house for Thanksgiving, pick up some item out of the want ads in Aunt Bee’s home town, take it home, list it on ebay. Even if the item make no $ I can deduct the trip and all the lodging expenses from my income tax since it was part of my business transaction. The business has to show a profit after so many years or you can’t keep doing it but as far as I know there is no minimum that it has to make. It is common for taxpayers to run a home business just for the deduction advantages that it affords. Farmers have that advantage many times better than the small business guy, with no sales tax due on most consumed items, most program income at reduced or no tax assesed liabilities, etc, etc. It is no wonder that every farmer that is seriously engaged in the business wants to expand his or her operation.. the bigger the operation the wider the deduction scope is and the larger the entitlement offered as incentive to keep in business. Ask any honest farmer what dictates his choice of crops planted in any year and 95% of the time the answer will be that whatever product US govt. entitlement program pays the bestfor is what they plant. I have seen corn planted in far western kansas where the annual rainfall will not sustain it because the failed crop disaster payment is the biggest check. the bigger the farmer, the better the profit margin, because as an operation gets larger there is a wider array of items that can be deducted as business expense.
Wake up America. The farm bill(s) have been doing exactly what they were intended (drafted) to do. There are no unintended consiquences going on here. It’s designed to take billions of your tax dollars and put it in the hands of their favorite constiuents. While, at the same time, controlling the prices and the market. When your the big cahuna, everyone else just says “Sir”. Wake up America. I say again, if you paid for your education, get a refund, you got screwed.