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May 14, 2008
rich farmers get richer
Taxpayers hoping for a change in 2006 probably haven't noticed but there hasn't been much fiscal restraint. Actually spending has gotten worse. The new farm bill is an atrocious example of fiscal irresponsibility. The Iowa Kind of Pork, aka Senator Tom Harkin looms large when it come to farm handouts. Senator Harkin was a major part of the ethanol bill that is helping starve people throughout the world. At least Harkin is representing farmers in Iowa well. I wrote about sugar subsidies a couple of months ago. The new farm bill has more sugar subsides. Greg Mankiw posted the lowlights from the new bill.
The bill would make the government buy sugar for 2X the world price, store it, then resell it at about an 80% loss to the taxpayer. Sugar sells for about 11¢/lb on the world market. The US government would have to buy sugar for about 22¢/lb, store it, and then auction off the excess to ethanol plants. We estimate that such an auction would net the government about 4¢/lb. In addition, this new provision would require the government to guarantee that domestic sugar producers get 85 percent of the domestic sugar market.Obviously Americans are too tuned out to really pay attention to these subsides. Rich farmers who are sucking at the teet of government handouts are the only ones who care. These subsidies are not helping the average American and they're making prices higher. Where is the outrage? Where is the leadership in this country?
Posted by nemov at May 14, 2008 12:31 PM
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Comments
yeah, and check out some of the handouts to big agri business that came as the result of the Freedom to Farm Act of 1996. thank you republican congress. sold to conservatives in rural america as a effort to deregulate the industry and remove barriers to free markets, this act in reality shifted the advantage to large corporate farms. another example of stacking the deck in favor of the rich and calling it "free market" or "deregulation".
Posted by: brown at May 14, 2008 3:41 PM