House Ag Committee: Cut Food Stamps, not Farm Aid

“Discuss.”

I just can’t. All I can do is …. *sigh*

Let them eat cake farm subsidies.

‘So it’s little surprise to see Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee urging Budget Chairman Paul Ryan not to make substantial cuts to federal farm programs…they have proposed one area for cuts–food stamps’

Michael,
Are you really surprised that the republicans want government paid rewards for businesses and the wealthy, and to punish the poor? Haven’t you been paying attention for the past 30 years?

So it’s little surprise to see Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee urging Budget Chairman Paul Ryan not to make substantial cuts to federal farm programs.
-
If there’s anything we know about Paul Ryan, it’s that he doesn’t care about the deficit.
-
He voted for Medicare Part D, always supports revenue reductions, voted for TARP, etc. And his silly little not-really-a budget plan would keep increasing the deficit until 2063.
-
Republicans either don’t care about any policy issues, or they exist to speed along the stratification of America. Those are the only two rational hypotheses in light of the last ten years of GOP policies. Ryan’s relentless talent for getting news coveragee is a point in favor of the latter theory.

The GOP just doesn’t care about you.

…deficit reduction is not the GOP’s top priority. It’s a bit lower on the list, somewhere between “get Styrofoam cups back into Congress” — an actual push the Republicans took up to thumb their nose at Nancy Pelosi’s environmental policies — and make “Sesame Street” beg for money.
.
– Ezra Klein

“Farm subsidies have cost taxpayers more than $245.2 billion since 1995, when the Environmental Working Group began tracking payments, according to its data.”
.
“About 61 percent of the aid went to 10 percent of recipients”
.
And this is not solely a GOP gravy train thing…
.
“Democratic Representative Earl Pomeroy,…House member from North Dakota, whose constituents last year received nearly $421.9 million in farm subsidies, the most of any district in the country.”
.
From: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-04/most-u-s-farm-subsidies-go-to-10-of-recipients-group-says.html

SNAP accounts for 3/4 of the Ag Dept’s budget? Have you checked the numbers on that?
.
Otherwise I’d just note that clearly manipulated video is enough to generate crusades against ACORN, NPR, and Shirley Sherrod, but no amount of untainted evidence can bring Republicans to turn on Agrobusiness.

“And this is not solely a GOP gravy train thing…”
.
Absolutely not. Multi-national corporations control the government. The entire government, including the Congress, the White House and the federal judiciary. The Progressive Caucus, Bernie Sanders and a few liberal federal judges are hardly an adequate counter-force to the profit interests, campaign cash and lobbyists of the Fortune 500.

“but no amount of untainted evidence can bring Republicans to turn on Agrobusiness.”
.
Please see 7 above, its a bipartisan feeding trough.
.
Good point on the ACORN smears, though. Maybe someone can send James O’Keeffe and his gals after big Ag.

SNAP accounts for 3/4 of the Ag Dept’s budget? Have you checked the numbers on that?

Yeah, that’s about right. In the proposed 2012 budget for the USDA, food & nutrition assistance totals ~74% of the $145 budget. You can read about it here (large PDF):
..
http://www.obpa.usda.gov/budsum/FY12budsum.pdf
..
You can read the overview or just check out the outlays by agency on page 121.

We should cut all subsidies period in this country. Then maybe we would have enough money to pay the bills.

Thanks for your usual short-sighted and stupid “analysis” rustyblogwhore. Do you really think cutting subsidies would balance the budget? Maybe you could provide some facts to back that up? Somehow, I doubt it.

“The temporary increase was slated to end fiscal 2018, but Congress already has tapped $14.4 billion of that increase to aid states with Medicaid, to help school districts avoid teacher layoffs, and to reauthorize and expand federal child-nutrition programs. As a result, the SNAP benefits increases will expire earlier than originally scheduled.”
.
Here is the prime example of why liberals are never serious about cutting ANY spending. First the monthly increases were meant to be “temporary” and second Congress already spent the money that was due for this. program. The Demos didn’t take nay offset, they ignored PAYGO and spent the money. Now the left is whining about ending a temporary increase.

To liberals there is no such thing as a temporary spending increase. Pelosi spent all of 2010 without passing a budget to hide the ever increasing spending by the Demos. Then we have folks like Skateboarder Erza Klein alternating between complaining that the Repubs don’t care about deficit reduction to whining that the cuts are draconian. Of course he complained about neither when Demos just spent the money.. But then you can’t expect any better from someone who has done nothing in his life but try and tell people how they should be living theirs.

It seems if Republicans want to cut help to the poor and keep welfare for the rich. Is it any wonder our deficit ballooned when they controlled both end of Pennsylvania avenue?

Hey Tea Party, I am waiting to hear a protest.

“Hey Tea Party, I am waiting to hear a protest.”
.
………….*crickets*……………………………….

C’mon, we’re talking the gop here – many are happy recipients of the socialized ag subsidies boondoggle. They’re certainly not going to strip away any of their own perks, they’ll save the cuts for the sick and the elderly.

It’s really very easy to understand. if you don’t need money, you therefore have the clout necessary to keep it flowing.
.
If not, well then not so much.
.
Just remember that the deficit is just an excuse to gut the social safety net. No one actually cares about it. More importantly. When they say they do, they are lying and should be called liars in no uncertain terms.

“Just remember that the deficit is just an excuse to gut the social safety net. No one actually cares about it”
.
And the Demos remind me of that old joke: I can’t be out of money I still have checks left. Deficit surplus who cares Keep spending.

I didn’t realize Big Bird was part of the safety net

Oh I am all for Defense cuts too. Major ones. Bring all of our troops home from everywhere around the world. Then cut Defense spending in half.
.
How’s that for analysis?
.
Dork

Actually deficits were on par with spending for the past 80 years, it has only been since Democrats controlled both the House and Senate for 2 years and now the past 2 years that we have seen our deficits EXPLODE like never before.
.
But, let’s cut deeply into spending. ALL spending, including major cuts to Defense, like 1/2 of the Defense budget. Bring all of our troops home from every corner of the earth. ALL of them.
.
Then what would you whine about?

And people say unions are bad
.

- talk about the corperate farm lobby

in response to 11.2

Hey Rusty,

I remember the 1980′s and I remember how small deficits exploded because if Reagan’s tax cuts and increases in spending. And this was from a president who promised to balance the budget.

I am not happy about the deficit and I would like to see Obama attack the problem head on instead of leaving in the hands of Congress. However, now is not the time to cut programs which either help the poor or keep people employed.

I will give you some props, Rusty, as you are the only Conservative in Swampland to call for a cut in Defense spending. The problem is Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Seniors don’t want any cuts in their Socialism and they vote more than any other age group. Doctors don’t want to take a cut and threaten not to treat the poor if they have to take less money (In truth, I can understand as Med School is priced out the range of normal human beings, and malpractice companies have doctors by the cajones and are jacking up insurance rates as the number of malpractice claims decline). Even if you defunded every discretionary program, you still would not balance the budget. It is time to tackle middle class entitlements.

“Montana’s Welfare Queens. Guess Who.”
.

Montana State Representative Janna Taylor, one of Montana’s loudest and proudest Tea Partiers, and also the Montana House whip, has collected $1,000,000 over the last 10 years in federal cash farm subsidies, according to newly released figures.
.
State Senator Bruce Tutvedt, another proud ultra-conservative who runs around Montana railing against excessive spending and the evils of “too much government”, has collected $643,063.
.
In fact, of the top 33 legislators in Montana who are recipients of federal farm assistance payments (which are cash payments that the government gives farmers for NOT growing crops), 30 are Republicans.
.
They all claim some affiliation or solidarity with the Tea Party. All of them rail constantly against the federal government and excessive spending. Most of them just voted, last week, for the now infamous Montana Nullification Act, which would have allowed the state to selectively ignore federal law.

.
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20110315/NEWS01/103150325/Report-GOP-lawmakers-accept-farm-subsidies-reject-other-federal-funds?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage

.

That you would attempt to call that analysis is humorous. Teh stupid — it burns!

Actually, Dirks is wrong. Democrats, unlike “Reagan proved deficits don’t matter” Republicans, care about deficit spending. It’s why they handed the Bush Administration budget surpluses as far the eye could see, which they promptly squandered and turned into the economic collapse and massive debt and deficits that the Teatards now dishonestly and hypocritically try to blame on Democrats.

This is funny. Share the tissues here. We lament the diminishment of good ol’ American know how and productivity to the overseas. Ag subsidies are payment to the rich for doing nothing. No, that was not the original intent of such programs, but with the right wing, history, intent, reason, are not relevant. One of the last sectors of American know how, bought and paid for in the midst of world hunger. American agriculture, the envy of the world, rendered subservient to our widening wealth gap. The food stamp angle in our own country is the cherry on top of right wing funny.

I’ve asked this before, but — the GOP has demonstrated time and again that it’s not serious about cutting the deficit, so in the interests of journalistic objectivity, you guys will stop using phrases like “fiscal conservative” and “budget hawk” to describe Republicans, right?

What a paradox!

One has to prove an extreme level of poverty to receive even the smallest amount of Food Stamps or SNAP averaging much less than $3. per day, per person. In April everyone’s Food Stamp/SNAP will be cut an additional $20.

In Contrast:
A Texas oil billionaire, a former NBA star and a DC “uber-lobbyist” all received money (legally) under a program to subsidize farmers. But according to the Environmental Working Group, you can’t find out if they or others like them still receive payments because the USDA is no longer publishing the names of individuals receiving payments. http://sunshineingov.wordpress.com/2010/05/14/farm-bill-sleight-of-hand-hids-subsidy-recipients/

Eligibility for farm subsidies is determined by crop, not by income or poverty standards. Growers of corn, wheat, cotton, soybeans, and rice receive more than 90 percent of all farm subsidies: Growers of nearly all of the 400 other domestic crops are completely shut out of farm subsidy programs. Further skewing these awards, the amounts of subsidies increase as a farmer plants more crops. http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2004/05/another-year-at-the-federal-trough-farm-subsidies-for-the-rich-famous-and-elected-jumped-again-in-2002