MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2008
2008 Farm Bill on Life Support
Last Friday,
the President gave Congress one more week to try to pass the 2008 farm bill. He had said he would only sign the extension if it looked like Congress was making some progress. He also said he would veto the bill as it stands.
The White House says the current farm bill proposals do not cut subsidies enough.
You can look up who is getting subsidies in any ZIP code. Don't limit yourself to farm community ZIPs. You will find subsidies in 90210 and the most urban communities you can imagine.
The delay in the passage of the farm bill
means farmers don't know what to plant because they don't know what will be subsidized.
How does the farm bill affect you, even if you are not a farmer?
Check out this NPR story.
The bill covers spending for a wide range of programs: international aid, commodities, food stamps and crop subsidies. Farm groups are trying to protect those subsidies, but critics say with farm income rising, it is time to cut them.
An AP story warns that things are not as rosy at they may seem on the farms of this country. This story is worth a read. It says that yes, crop prices are high, but there are deep, underlying concerns:
At a time of record agricultural profits, concerns are mounting that American farmers could be edging toward a financial crisis not seen since the 1980s farm-economy collapse.
Soaring land values, increasing debt and a reliance on government subsidies for ethanol production have prompted economists to warn that what some describe as a golden age of agriculture could come to a sudden end. At risk are the livelihoods of thousands of farmers, the health of hundreds of banks and the vitality of an agricultural industry that has been one of the nation's few economic bright spots in recent months.
More coverage:
Posted at 12:43:56 AM
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