Our legislature has just voted on continuing subsidies that benefit large companies (who must pay very well during Iowa primaries), while "trimming the fat" of food aid. Oh, they've also made it harder for small farms to compete.
I would feel sorry for small farmers if I did not believe that they do not statistically exist anymore in the US (any numbers on how big "small farms" are relative to ADM? Anyone?).
We've cut payments to Brazil which were the result of their (very reasonable) protest against our farm subsidies and tariffs. Okay... so what? Have we lowered the tariffs against Brazilian goods yet? Nope, and now we're back in violation of the agreement made with the WTO.
Just to recap: in the great Congressional debate on deficit and debt reduction, our Congressmen and Senators have cut aid to women and children (food stamps!!!) by $868 million, but kept the subsidies for large farm companies ($20 billion from some estimates), and added to the headaches of that small population of "small farmers" who are actually small farmers.
Do not buy the lies. Farm subsidies do not "help" the good old, F150 driving, aw-shucks, all-American farmers. They help the guys that Matt Damon ratted out in this movie. WIC on the other hand helps feed young children, which is proven to improve educational outcomes in pre-school and kindergarten, which is shown to have a very large and significant correlation with future wage outcomes (the ability of kiddos to grow up and NOT have to use programs like WIC).
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