Corporate Welfare

An excerpt from today's Patriot worth quoting at length:

Speaking of entitlements, when you hear the term "corporate welfare," do you think of farm subsidies? That's right, boys and girls, your hard-earned money going to those little family farmers, Mr. John Hancock, Mr. Eli Lilly, Ms. Georgia Pacific, Ms. Kimberly-Clark, and Mr. Archer-Daniels-Midland-Supermarket-to-the-World. With the new Bush budget on the table, we anticipate the debate over farm subsidies will come fast and furious.

First, a few facts: The average farmer makes 17% more than the average non-farmer and is worth six times as much. Farmers tend to live in rural areas (you know, out in the farmland) where costs are lower, and they can often deduct their utility bills as business expenses. Curiously, farmers also tend to purchase less food than non-farmers. Furthermore, for a mere $4 billion, we could guarantee every full-time farmer in the country a minimum income that's 185 percent above the poverty level. (In addition, they could make money on the side by, say, farming). Instead, we spend $12 billion -- and another $30 billion on farm subsidies.

Where does that money go? In 2002, 13 companies received more than $2 million each, with several Fortune 500 companies on the farming dole. Between 1995 and 2002, over $2 million in subsidies went to five congressmen and four senators, five of whom just happen to have a day job on the agricultural committees of their respective legislative bodies. Other subsidies go to such poverty-stricken farmers as David Rockefeller, Ted Turner, and Sam Donaldson. Didn't you always wonder how those gentlemen could afford modern life without a little help from the taxpayers? Well, now you know, and you also know how they can afford to be so ambivalent about tax cuts.