The Farm Bill Isnt Just for Farmers

Center for American Progress Director of Resources for Global Growth Jake Caldwell explains that as the Congress takes up the farm bill - it means something for EVERYONE: climate change, national security, trade, energy policy and the economy -- so it's worth paying attention to.

For more information please see:
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2007/01/farm_economy.html

www.AMERICANPROGRESS.org

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• farm
• environment
• climate
• global
• warming
• oil
• iraq
• bush
• congress
• politics
• biofuel
• e85
• economy
• seeprogress

[CouldNotCareLes]

Trashcan the whole bill ... we do not need food stamps.

Les

[GomerDose]

Rednecks hate "Obama Socialism" except for their "Farm Bill"

"Udder Bullshit". Get it? Udder? LOL!

[HK83IE]

the farm program has created the highest production & lowest prices in history over the last 20 yrs. it has helped feed the world, not just america. Encouraging high production protects from disaster. One drought can bring us to our knees. Europe learned these lessons while starving during their food shortages during the war and built in like supports to keep farmers producing.

[dmp417]

This farm bill is a joke. A married farmer can bring in 1.5million dollars in one year before he doesn't recieve subsidies. They also replace FOOD STAMPS with the words NUTRITION FUNDS why? because our country isn't obese enough! WHAT THE HELL?! This camels back is about to break, if you feel some injustice then write your congressmen and women. Not in an email either, I mean break out a pen and a piece of paper and show some general disgust and mail that sucker in.

[kryz24v]

End the Farm Bill now! no more redistribution of wealth. stop corporate subsidies. We don't need Federal funding of programs. Stop over taxation and government waist of your money. There is no need for these programs and work only to weaken the market price by artificial stimulation.

[communitywork]

Vote YES on the Dorgan-Grassley amendment, which ensures support for U.S. farmers who need it most. Today 66 percent of commodity payment programs go to 10 percent of our nation's farmers, the biggest and most affluent. Urge the Senate to pass a fair commodity title that better targets payments to those who need them while closing loopholes that have permitted the powerful to collect multiple payments.

[markrockwell]

These "rewards for combating global warming" are just another name for farmer subsidies. They are unnecessary and, frankly, at a time when we are pushing for the rest of the world to drop its trade barriers to our goods, they are dishonest. How on earth you believe that subsidizing US farmers will increase global equity is beyond me. Sure foreign consumers get cheaper food, but they also lose their only source of livelihood as US farmers dump under-priced crops onto the local markets.

[NimishGlobal]

Noble thoughts Jake, but I want know if using biofuels really saves energy. I have heard that production of Ethanol, for example, uses more energy than it saves. In absence of concrete case in favor of biofuels, I see the farm bill as an attempt by an organized interest to fleece the taxpayer.

[MysticalLibra]

Thanks for sharing!

[genghis6199]

we are having free trade agreement negotiations with you guys atm [i'm from oz] and the american government always seems to want to protect it's own markets. fuel information was amazing, do you think the oil crew will let this stuff happen?. there are a lot of new biofuel crops and they are largely ignored by 'developed' countries.