GUEST VIEW: Farm bill would aid the rich

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May 28, 2008

By Darren D. Wilson The Journal-Register Wed May 28, 2008, 07:04 PM EDT

The front page of the May 23 issue of this newspaper showed a photo of U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer looking determined under the headline “Farm bill appears veto-proof.” Admittedly, Sen. Schumer is one of our most vocal legislators, if not exactly the brightest bulb in the box. Critical thinking is not his strong suit. But considering the company he keeps, this isn’t surprising.

Of recent Congressional battles none is more counter-intuitive than the latest farm bill and Congress knows it. This farm bill is shameful not just for its content but for what it says about Republicans catering to an enormous farm lobby and Democrats sheer lack of backbone.

While farmers argue for support when prices are low, they now demand protection when times are good. Reality should say you can’t have both but this farm bill twists reality. Farmers of a few select crops such as wheat and maize can avoid virtually any risk using the farm bill’s complicated overlapping system of subsidized insurance, loans and payments, disaster aid, counter-cyclical assistance and legacy payments which are all tied into nothing. Through disaster relief, farmers can plant on lousy land and qualify for taxpayer aid, which is a good incentive for them to do so. Or they can just skip the planting part altogether and just get a check.

The recipients of this farm bill are hardly the most deserving. Farm households in America make on average one-third more than non-farm households and the richest of them, which will get nearly all of these subsidies, make three times more than the average American household. This farm bill subsidizes farm households making between $229,920 per year all the way up to $1.5 million per year. And even that upper limit can be avoided with a reasonably good accountant. And the amount of our money these farmers will get? How about $307 billion. More shocking is the farm bill’s authors tied future subsidies to today’s record prices meaning some pretty fat times ahead. Farmers of all kinds are getting a slice of the action including farmers like David Letterman and David Rockefeller both of whom will get our tax money due to their “farming activities.”

Instead of saving the family farm this policy is destroying it by encouraging agricultural land consolidation — bigger farms but fewer farmers — which raises barriers to entry. In other words, the little guy wishing to seek his or her own agricultural heritage should think again. The Journal-Register article states that a “trade section” of the bill was left out but has little impact on New York farmers. False. This trade section protects sugar farmers. U.S. sugar farmers are guaranteed 85 percent of the total U.S. market. The General Accounting Office suggests this will cost American consumers an extra $2 billion for sugar while draining another $1.3 billion from the public coffers. This “trade omission” means the U.S. is unable to import cheap Brazilian sugar to convert to dirt-cheap biofuel — as opposed to sky-high corn-based ethanol. That’s cheaper fuel for everyone including New York farmers. And with less corn crop diverted to ethanol production, the prices would drop and farmers can feed their livestock for less while you and I can afford to buy more of their beef for our families. Corn farmers, of course, continue to qualify for subsidies despite the loss of ethanol revenue. It’s sad Sen. Schumer doesn’t understand any of this.

Democrats want to increase the food stamp program which enables poor Americans to buy basic staples. They also wish to spend more on under-funded rural conservation projects including projects in our area. With some luck, the Democrats might have cut into the farm bills worst subsidy — the direct payments that go to landowners regardless of how much they produce. But in the end the Democrats, including Schumer, didn’t have the will to upset farmers and push for truly significant farm subsidy reform. Thus, rural New York gets less while farmers in Montana get a permanent $5 billion disaster fund with some of our money. Nice.

For the record I don’t much like President Bush but he was right to veto this farm bill. Presidential hopeful Sen. McCain likewise rejected this farm bill. Sens. Obama, Clinton and Schumer grinned and signed up. I hope they come to their senses the next time they watch Late Night With David Letterman.

Darren D. Wilson lives in Lyndonville.

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