THE father of Major Major, a character in Catch 22, a novel by Joseph Heller, makes a good living not growing alfalfa. “The more alfalfa he did not grow, the more money the government gave him, and he spent every penny he didn’t earn on new land to increase the amount of alfalfa he did not produce.” Each day, Mr Major “sprang out of bed at the crack of noon... just to make certain that the chores would not be done.”

To this day, to be treated as a farmer in America doesn’t necessarily require you to grow any crops. According to the Government Accountability Office, between 2007 and 2011 Uncle Sam paid some $3m in subsidies to 2,300 farms where no crop of any sort was grown. Between 2008 and 2012, $10.6m was paid to farmers who had been dead for over a year. Such payments explain why Tom Vilsack, the agriculture secretary, is promoting a rule to attempt to crack down on payments to non-farming folk. But with crop prices now falling, taxpayers are braced to be fleeced again.





The 2014 bill, which passed with 68 votes in the Senate and comfortably in the House, at least nodded to reform. Most importantly Congress abolished direct payments based on land ownership. Instead, farmers now get more subsidised insurance, and new payments which are linked to past crop prices and productivity. Those not “actively engaged” in farming are in theory banned from collecting subsidies—though Congress delegated the task of defining who is really a farmer to Mr Vilsack’s department.

This new system was meant to save around $23 billion over a decade—partly through cuts to food stamps for hard-up families, a welfare programme which, oddly, is administered by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). But because payments are linked to commodity prices and output, the new system could cost much more, says Vincent Smith, an agricultural economist at Montana State University. It could also get America into trouble with the World Trade Organisation if payments exceed certain thresholds.

Ominously, on February 10th the USDA predicted that net farm income would decline by 32% between 2014 and 2015. Commodities such as corn (which in America is used to produce everything from biofuel to syrup) and soya have become less valuable of late thanks to soaring supply and weak demand. Falling prices reduce the cost of subsidised crop insurance to the taxpayer (since less valuable crops cost less to insure). But those gains will be wiped out and more by the cost of compensating farmers for their lower incomes.

Any new rules designed to stop non-farmers from getting payments will be unlikely to work, predicts Mr Smith. While it may be possible to stop some landowners from claiming payments, they will adapt: “You hire a good agricultural lawyer and redefine the structure of the farm.” Many landowners have already found their way around similar rules introduced in the farm bill of 2008, nominating young children as farmers, or claiming to be engaged in farming by providing management advice. Alfalfa non-growers still have bumper times ahead.

http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21643191-crop-prices-fall-farmers-grow-subsidies-instead-milking-taxpayers

... this should be posted everywhere ...

... and include the so-called "media" so-called "people" who have the same. sweet, taxpayer-money-sucking deals ...

So, cutting the program is losing 41.2 billion in return value for the economy. WTF is wrong with these assholes? I thought they like businesses like Walmart?

You're just removing this money from the grocery stores and other businesses that accept these benefits. Sure you may save a couple of pennies but you'll just be reducing downstream money flow not to mention adding more stress in areas where people will have less resources to live on.

Can't hold a candle to today's Republican when it comes to cruel. They have never meet a poor person they wouldn't shaft or a rich person they wouldn't help to get richer.

Elections in 2016 and 2018 are super important to get these assholes out of control. Let's do it.

I mean, what is their excuse for this? We all know they can't resist the opportunity to cause more different kinds of pain simultaneously in their victims.

The rich who donate large amounts of legal bribes to get what they want, the illegal but un-enforced Quid Pro Quo!

... this will disproportionately effect poor people in northern (i.e. more likely to be liberal) states.

They know the cuts will have a ripple effect to the economy. They want those ripples to be felt where they don't live.

I would love to hear their bizarre artsy-smartsy monkey with a parasol imitation of logic on this one.

like it or not.

I think the nation will survive without that jet.

with ten fewer jets .

Last edited Sat May 14, 2016, 11:16 AM - Edit history (1)

If people need food stamps they obviously are just lazy. In America anyone can be rich if they are willing to work hard enough. If you're rich then you can buy your own political candidate. If you can't buy your own political candidate then your opinion doesn't matter.

People get what you vote for! That's why I support candidates that favor the corporations and the rich. Fuck the poor and candidates like Bernie Sanders that don't receive contributions from the wealthy. That's why Hillary Clinton is my candidate!

Hey, I want the best presidential candidate my money can buy!!!!

I don't know if I come across that way, but I was attempting to be very sarcastic in my first post - actually in the last several posts of mine over the last several days. I believe absolutely nothing that I posted.

If Hillary Clinton is expected to be my candidate in the general election then I will only vote for her with a huge dose of cynicism and while withholding a huge mouthful of vomit. The only thing that can convince me to vote for Hillary is the fact that she stands to be in a position to appoint supreme court justices. Otherwise, I don't trust her to do anything better than Trump.

Part of the whole reason that I am on the federal teat and am permanently and totally disabled with PTSD is because of politicians like Hillary Clinton. I absolutely stand for nothing that her type believe in and could just about never bring myself to vote for a candidate like her. Corporate interests, bankers, and war are things that I can never stand behind.

Hillary and her ilk vote and stand for policies that will get them reelected and that will get them the most donations by their corporate sponsors. They care absolutely nothing about us "normal" folk.

So, in the mean time, I'm going to be the worst Hillary Clinton supporter ever. I'm going to loudly pretend to support exactly what she stands for and represents

Join me in Philadelphia for two potential purposes:
1. To be a physical presence outside the convention to voice support for Bernie Sanders in the face of a rigged convention, the result of massive election fraud and voter suppression virtually all of which favored Hillary.
2. In the event Bernie does not receive the Democratic nomination, to raise our voices to Bernie urging him to continue running until November as an Independent candidate,

Against Hillary and Trump, Bernie wins in the GE by the numbers. Organizing efforts are now underway by Bernicrats, independently of the campaign, for 1 million people to converge on the convention in Philly July 23rd to 25th. Whether or not 1 million show up, this will be the first massive representation of the peaceful revolution. Given the alternative choices available, you owe it to yourself to bring your body to Philadelphia. If Bernie loses the DWS-DNC nomination, I will be right outside to persuade him to run to November as an Independent. WILL YOU JOIN ME?

It'd be easy for me to head down there. I've done the drive several times and I used to live around the area. I'll just have to start now to convince my wife and kids that I need to be down there that weekend.

As a kid I grew up believing that the American Dream of class mobility and unlimited potential was available to all. I didn't realize that as a middle class white male that it really was only me who the dream was most available to.

I joined the military as a naive kid with the intention of making the world a better place. I didn't even see that there was a lot of work to be done in our own country. My military action service and good intentions were misused by the politicians we elected and it has destroyed my life. I accomplished nothing that I had intended to accomplish with my service. To be a part of the movement Bernie Sanders represents would give me a sense of fulfillment in my life that I never got from my military service.


I want all of the people in our nation to have the same chance to raise healthy and well educated children as I do. That is a movement I'm willing to give everything for.

I'm a true believer in what I'm willing to fight for.

From my experiences fighting in Iraq against people who truly believe that they were fighting for the good of their communities I can attest to the fact that a "true believer" is a hard adversary to defeat - if not an impossible person to defeat.

I hate the reference to violence and that is the last thing I want. I've seen first hand what it is and what it does to people and families. However I'm not afraid to be firm and stand for what I believe in.

Thank you for energizing me and giving me hope.

That always works...

F-35A: $98M (low rate initial production without engine, full production in 2018 to be $85M) F-35B:
US$104M (low rate initial production without engine) F-35C: US$116M (low rate initial production
without engine)

Haven't we already cut food stamps? Part of the sequestration nonsense?

in their other hand they'll pass tax cuts for the casino owners

And I strongly suspect that they never got the satire of the Dead Kennedys' cut "Kill the Poor"

Cruel inhuman assholes.

But nobody listened............

I smell torch fumes and hear the distant drums of despair approaching.
It appears that starving off the masses would go a long way toward
solving the problems of the 1%, namely - their fear of said masses.

assholes!

on this site would have been upset for this. Not anymore. Vote for Hillary.

Status Quo, ya' know!

a way and it is not the first time.

Also, they are fucking over grocery stores who will lose business.

Maybe they could just make it easy for people and legalize assisted suicide. Sigh.

The ultimate goal seems to create a miserable bottom class that will do anything for a few crusts of bread. Like the middle ages all over again.

Too bad they have done a good job of gerrymandering.