19 October 2011

This is the sort of thing to get me into the street

Farm subsidies! Get out the pitchforks men! Kill the monster!

Essentially they're getting rid of a subsidy, once intended to be temporary and then made permanent (the danger of any supposed short-term government spending), and now they're replacing it by creating an insurance programme. Something that most every farm already has privately. And which the government, for some reason, helps pay for already.

This too was a major problem:
"But Dr. Smith, the Montana State economist, said the cost could be much greater because the plan used recent high crop prices as its benchmark.
“If farm prices move back towards what are widely viewed as more normal levels than their current levels, farmers will be compensated for going back to business as usual,” he said."

Why they couldn't pick an indexed price over several years rather than an inflated price (in part caused by subsidies), I'm lost there.


I note also that an idiot Senator from OHIO is involved. Thanks. I shall be picketing your office at the next election, especially if this farce passes. As it undoubtedly will.

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