Lower the cap on farm subsidies
EDITORIAL - 04/13/2008
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The reasons for the rise in prices are well known a push for corn-based ethanol as an alternative to rising gasoline prices, and a shortage of wheat as farmers turn to plant more lucrative corn crops. So why would Congress even think of giving farmers more generous subsidies?
There`s really no good answer. A while ago, Congress seemed to be on the verge of reforming a farm subsidy program born of the Depression and woefully out of proportion for today`s agricultural economy. In the 1930s, farms were mostly family businesses that struggled at the mercy of the weather, fluctuating market prices and other variables. Today, the small farm is disappearing, replaced by huge corporate farms that make millions of dollars a year. And the definition of a farmer has changed. Under today`s criteria, someone like David Rockefeller, who owns a farm in New York, qualifies for subsidies ? $554,000 from 1995 to 2005, according to The Wall Street Journal.
President Bush took the unusual step of sending Congress a farm bill that, among other things, would limit subsidies to farms with incomes of $200,000 or less. The current standard is ridiculously high: $2.5 million.
Now, the House and the Senate have passed bills that are far more generous than envisioned by the White House. The House version reduces the eligibility cap for subsidies to $1 million, while the Senate version puts the ceiling at $750,000.
Bush has been hinting at a veto if Congress sends him a compromise package that does not include fundamental reforms. Unless lawmakers come to their senses soon, that`s exactly what he should do.
The Times Union of Albany/AP
Source: http://www.eldiariolaprensa.com/noticias/detail_print.aspx?section=25&desc=Editorial&id=1850696
P.S. Where's Jeb Bush in this Ethanol equation? Maybe, in Brazil?