Urban Development: 71 percent of farm subsidies go to the top 10 percent of subsidy beneficiaries

Lets get something straight about the USA subsidies to farmers. It is another example of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. First, what is the premise for subsidies? In 1949, the farm policy “is based on the premise that a surplus of crops has lowered crop prices too far and farmers need subsidies to recover lost income. However, the federal government’s remedy is to offer subsidies that increase as a farmer plants more crops. This creates greater crop surpluses, driving prices down even further and spurring demands for even greater subsidies.”(Source: Heritage Foundation) Lets not forget that when Bush took office, subsidies for millionaires rose 28% and 400% across the board. The subsidies is going to the large industrial farms, 60% of small farmers businesses are not eligible and they are the ones that need it most. Farm policy as is, encourages overproduction through increasing the use of pesticides and fertilizers which has led to the demise of several ecosystems. According to 1998 EPA data, agricultural pollution is the leading cause of water quality impairment in lakes, streams and rivers. Agricultural pollution is the fifth leading cause of water quality impairment in estuaries. Small farmers are actually doing more for the environment, “In the United States, small farmers devote 17 percent of their area to woodlands, compared to only five percent on large farms, and keep nearly twice as much of their land in ‘soil improving uses,’ including cover crops and green manures.”
(Source: U.S. EPA brochure – PDF) The Wall Street Journal cleverly stated, “Senate and House conferees this week unveiled their final farm bill, a 10-year, $173.5 billion bucket of slop that has even Washington agog….Where, we wonder, is the adult supervision?” In 2002, 78 farms, none small or struggling, each received over a million dollars in subsidies. The bottom 80 percent of recipients average only $846 per year. So, who is getting subsidies? (these companies look familiar?)
• Examples of who is currently getting farm subsidies:
• Archer Daniels Midland $36,305
• Boise Cascade Corporation $11,024
• Caterpillar $171,698
• Chevron $260,223
• Deere & Company $12,875
• DuPont $188,732
• Georgia Pacific $37,156
• International Paper $375,393
• John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance $125,975
• Mead Corp $15,115
• Westvaco Corp $268,740
Others receiving subsidies: Eli Lilly Co, Kimberly-Clark, Navistar, Pfizer, RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co.
65% of Americans disapprove of subsidies. Subsidies are another corruption that needs to be stopped.

Comments Off on Urban Development: 71 percent of farm subsidies go to the top 10 percent of subsidy beneficiaries / 30 Jan 2012 por Lauren Musiello
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