Politics

‘Real News From the Blaze’: Farm Bill Debate Grows on Capitol Hill

The country is experiencing the most severe drought since the 1950s as the House will face a vote this week on the farm bill, which comes up once every five years. While devastated Farmland and crops are bound to move some Americans now–and many more to come once the consumer begins to feel the results–it’s worth taking a hard look at the details of the Farm Bill.

There is a nostalgic reaction that most Americans have to the family farm and the desire to help farmers who are the backbone of American agriculture, but as The Economist notes, payments to farmers have been running at around $12 billion a year since 2007. Since then, farmers have enjoyed record prices and incomes, and increasing yields. This has put farm income to its highest point in almost 40 years, with farm failures down to a rate of less than one in 200 a year. The Economist reports that the five-year cost of the 2008 farm bill ran to $283.9 billion, of which 67 percent went to nutritional assistance for the poor; mostly food stamps, while cash paid to farmers through income support and conservation payments only accounted for 23 percent.

Furthermore, conservative advocacy groups have begun to put pressure on House Republicans to strip renewable-energy subsidies out of the bill that contains support for a number of programs that aid rural biofuels producers.

Joined by Veronique de Rugy, the ‘Real News’ panel discussed whether lawmakers will look at the current economic situation and apply it to the sentimentally sensitive farm bill.

Comments (22)

  • sawbuck
    Posted on July 31, 2012 at 8:04am

    I’m confused..????

    Was it the Pelosi congress that allocated….67 % of the ’farm bill’ that went to FOOD STAMPS.

    Or was it ‘Bushes fault‘…?

    He did get the infamous credit for the money allocated ..that was added to the national debt

    I guess Bush really was for the poor starving welfare recipients after all….!

    Report Post » sawbuck  
  • DOra Glasberg
    Posted on July 31, 2012 at 12:02am

    Did ya know that ole farmer gal Michele Bachman has received over $250,00 in farm subsidies, by crackey! And Marcus pray the gay away clinics another $100,00!
    This would be such a great country without big gubberment!!
    Does the Tea Party know this – or care?

    Report Post » DOra Glasberg  
    • oldguy49
      Posted on July 31, 2012 at 12:22am

      no subsidies for anyone..phase it all out and flat tax and lets get this country back………..hard work and no handouts

      Report Post »  
    • DEFCON4
      Posted on July 31, 2012 at 1:14am

      Dear, Dora Gasbag, Did ya know? With out Farmers, Not one of Us could eat money………….!

      Report Post » DEFCON4  
    • yougottabekidding
      Posted on July 31, 2012 at 7:50am

      And how much are we giving the ethanol people so they make
      a profit burning our food?

      Report Post »  
  • Helpful
    Posted on July 30, 2012 at 10:40pm

    Where not all Stupid, the Farm Bill would be small if you or they would take the Free Handouts and welfare off the Bill. But for some reason years ago this is what the Left did. Most Farmers I know are Hard working people, and the Govt. has their Hands tied behind them. They have to have permission from Big Govt. to even grow a garden……………If you don’t believe me about the Welfare,,,,Look it Up,,,,,,I think you will be Surprized whats in the Bill.

    Report Post »  
  • kathystone
    Posted on July 30, 2012 at 10:29pm

    I live on a farm in Missouri. Most of my neighbors are farmers. What gets me is the bigger farm conglomerates get millions of dollars in farm aide while those of us who own smaller farms, under 250 acres, can’t get any form of help. Farming is a weird animal. You need seed money for seed, tractors, fertilizers etc to get a crop to grow. Then if you have no rain, you need to irrigate or have smoe method of watering the crops. Fertilizer prices have gone through the roof. What used to cost $100/ton is now over $2,000/ron. I work from 4am to 10 pm most days right now and will continue until the end of October. I have been since mid march. There are crops to plant, fields to tend, varmints to deal with both the human an other animal type. There are fences to medn so the cows stay in. Usually we have a good pasture for them. Not this year. We are already feeding hay. Hay was high last year,yet the price is already over what we paid in the dead of winter. Many farmers are selling off their beef, killing the cows and keeping the calves since it takes less food to feed a calf than a cow. That means meat prices will “necessarily skyrocket” just like our fuel prices have.
    I love what I do, feeding America. But it is getting harder and harder for a small family farm to make ends meet with the subsidies going to corporate farms and no one to help the little guy.

    Report Post »  
    • Prosecute_Constitutional_Treason_In_Washington
      Posted on July 30, 2012 at 10:38pm

      Sad the little farmer takes it on the chin while the large corp. farms suck up all the profits and gov. cash. This Country is designed so the big guy wins and the small guy pays for it. The crookedness starts in Washington.

      Report Post » Prosecute_Constitutional_Treason_In_Washington  
    • freeberty
      Posted on July 30, 2012 at 10:45pm

      Are you a spokeswoman for the Socialist Farmers of America? Why don’t you stop figuring out ways to steal money out of my pocket, close down your non- productive farm and try to train yourself to become a more productive citizen? Or just give up totally and join the growing ranks of parasitic government employees.

      Report Post »  
    • mtsnj
      Posted on July 30, 2012 at 10:47pm

      Im sure the monies go to all the wrong things. Farmers used to get paid to not grow crops and they would pick on the worst plot of land to stand idle..just a joke anytime the government tries to “help”. All this grain is not good..cows are suppose to eat grass

      Report Post »  
    • soybomb315
      Posted on July 30, 2012 at 11:08pm

      @kathystone
      Thanks for sharing your story

      Everytime the government gets involved – it is for the benefit of large corporations and at the expense of individuals and small business. Thats why we call it cronny capitalism, or corporatism. Republicans are not immune to this

      Report Post » soybomb315  
    • Rothbardian_in_the_Cleve
      Posted on July 30, 2012 at 11:27pm

      There should be no farm subsidies…period.

      You can’t bemoan Solyndra and welfare moms and Wall Street bailouts in one breath and support farm subsidies in the next. Well, some of you can but most can’t.

      Report Post » Rothbardian_in_the_Cleve  
  • pmjr-jones
    Posted on July 30, 2012 at 10:25pm

    to feel not guilty call it “Therapeutic Silence” instead of lies!

    Report Post »  
  • soybomb315
    Posted on July 30, 2012 at 10:11pm

    Ah, this is where the rubber meets the road. Has the republican party changed from their big government and corrupt industrial past? Or will they continue to do the same thing they have always done?

    You want the constitutional vote to go to Romney? Better start acting like it

    Report Post » soybomb315  
    • pmjr-jones
      Posted on July 30, 2012 at 10:27pm

      call it therapeutic silence instead of lies

      Report Post »  
    • pmjr-jones
      Posted on July 30, 2012 at 10:28pm

      call i t therapeutic lies

      Report Post »  
    • pmjr-jones
      Posted on July 30, 2012 at 10:33pm

      don’t through your pearls before swine works after you tell the truth; they want contraversatey.

      Report Post »  
    • freeberty
      Posted on July 30, 2012 at 10:37pm

      Not likely to change after nearly a century of wealth redistribution. The former Russian collective farm could have only dreamed of such a massive fraud to rip off their follow citizens.

      Report Post »  
  • freeberty
    Posted on July 30, 2012 at 10:08pm

    Farmers, the first Welfare citizens since the 1920s. I think people would be shocked by how much Ma and Pa down on the farm have ripped off the American people from direct payments, subsides, and using the government to sell us products that only enrich themselves. It wasn’t Obama or Bush that pushed ethanol on the American people it was the parasites in the center of our country.

    Report Post »  
  • Impenitent
    Posted on July 30, 2012 at 9:57pm

    with the drought reducing the amount of corn for food, will comrade Obama’s EPA double the amount of ethanol in your gas?

    Report Post »  
    • yougottabekidding
      Posted on July 30, 2012 at 10:10pm

      So you don’t think it makes sense to burn our food!
      How unAmerican of you

      Report Post »  
    • howardroark1165
      Posted on July 30, 2012 at 10:23pm

      Don’t forget all of the bio diesel from soy beans. Diverting corn and beans from the food stream to the fuel stream is a case study in how the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Anyone with a rudimentary understanding of economics could have predicted the rise in food prices (even before a record drought).

      Brazil produces a LOT of ethanol, but from sugar cane…….. NOT corn which is also used as a feed stock for live stock… higher feed prices, more expensive steaks. Sugar is a much smaller component of the diet than corn is, thus a minimal impact…. plus they planted enough cane to meet the demand of both food and fuel.

      The US doesn’t need to get off of oil…….. it needs to get off of IMPORTED oil…. which was the exact issue the Brazilians faced, but doing it through a politically motivated vote buying scheme is NOT the way to solve the problem.

      Report Post » howardroark1165  

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