A cornucopia for rich farmers

What can $100 million buy you in Congress? If you're agribusiness, such money spent this past year on lobbying and campaign donations will harvest billions in farm subsidies and keep you in clover for another five years.

Congress plans to renew the US agriculture law this week with no apologies for that fact that most of the subsidies will go to the wealthiest 10 percent of recipients and that a majority of this largess will enrich commercial farmers with an average income of $200,000.

And the ultimate cost to each US household for this congressional cornucopia? About $320 a year in taxes and higher food prices – beyond the already inflated prices at supermarkets. Oh, and then there's the likely retaliation by other countries against such trade-distorting farm subsidies and the expected loss in further opening global trade.

All this for a "temporary" law born during the Dust Bowl of the Depression to help only the poorest family farmers. If anything, regular renewal of the federal government's largest corporate-welfare scheme has only squeezed out family farms by favoring big commercial ones, which carry the most clout on Capitol Hill.

What makes this payoff to corporate farmers so indigestible this time around is that it comes when food producers are making record profits from high global prices and subsidies for grain- and sugar-based ethanol. Since the last renewal of the farm law in 2002, farmer income and crop prices have more than doubled.

But despite such stubborn facts, this is an election year, and money still talks to lawmakers in search of campaign cash for reelection.

rest of article @ link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20080514/cm_csm/efarmbill;_ylt=AopEYr6AaAB0nZYHe.6zMxrZn414

I have farm land behind my house (and he is growing corn for ethanol too) and I watch him quite often. He works harder than any 3 people I know put together. He just worked the field and planted last week and it is back breaking work.

I don't think I could have done what he does even when I was at my prime decades ago. And he is older than me now.

Don

to be rich. For example, teachers, firemen, policemen, laborers, etc. However, practicality, realistic matters and what is good for the overall economy should preclude only (richness). Besides, your neighbor may not be one of the corporate farmers so much of this applies to as well. Selfishness does not help the overall situation.

and basic facts on food production. this article does`t start with defining what type of corporate farm is getting the most from the farm bill...

I don't think 200,000 in income is a rich farmer. I would be against subsidies for big corporate farms though.