Nix the Farm Bill - Robert Reich

[Mass]

Nix the Farm Bill

I’ve got a way to reduce global poverty, decrease the number of workers crossing our borders illegally, save American taxpayers money, and cut your supermarket bill -- in one fell swoop. How? Get rid of US farm subsidies and tariffs.

They were supposed to be a temporary remedy for small farmers during the Depression. But, renewed every five years regardless of which party controls Congress, farm subsidies keep going and going. They've been costing taxpayers some $11 billion a year. The Senate is now considering the latest version, and it's hardly better than what's come before.

Look, I have no problem insuring small farmers against major losses. But farm subsidies go mostly to big agribusinesses that hardly need them.

But the big problem isn't just the waste of taxpayer money. Americans -- including the US media and even Washington politicos -- tend to regard agriculture policy as the exclusive domain of legislators from farm states. Yet our farm policy is the single most damaging thing we're doing to the world's poor. Ending farm subsidies and tariffs would be the single most important thing we could do to reduce global poverty

...

Message to the U.S. Senate: You want to fight global poverty and illegal immigration? You want to reduce the budget deficit? You want to give American consumers a break? There's no simpler first step to accomplish all these things than to end farm subsidies and tariffs.

[xchrom]

1. i can not support ending subsidies for small farms -- but i want mega farms

brought under control -- and ending those subsidies are just a start.

farming is one of the keystone elements of any culture -- it's foundational.
and only smaller farms can begin to give the public the quality, the clean, and diverse products we all need.

mega farming represents sameness -- cheap at the expense of healthy -- and so on.
mega farms need nothing from the public -- least of all public taxes or tax cuts.

[wuushew]

2. How can the U.S. be in the WTO and have a farm bill at the same time?

Eventually these two things will come to loggerheads. Are there any deadlines for these trade talks? I guess the easy thing would be to kick the can down the road and full speed ahead on the pork express.

[wuushew]

3. kick

:kick:

[lynnertic]

4. kick