Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Should America's Farm Bill Serve Need ... or Greed? By Jim Hightower
The federal budget is not only about money, but fundamentally about our country's morality — our commitment to fairness, equality and unity.
Which brings me to, of all things, our nation's Farm Bill. This sprawling piece of legislation, updated every five years, is intended to combine the interests of farmers with consumers, production with conservation, grassroots cultures with corporate systems ... etc. It's not easy. In fact, downright messy.
But now, with plutocratic ideologues and culture warriors dominating their caucus, Republican lawmakers have not even been able to produce an agreement among themselves, so the comprehensive farm bill America needs is a year overdue and no longer being pursued by the party in charge. Instead, the GOP's ag committee chairman, Rep. Glenn Thompson, is jerry-rigging a stripped-down sham of a bill limited to the two spending priorities of MAGA Republicans:
No. 1: Hand out many billions more of our taxpayers' dollars to subsidize agribusiness giants and rich speculators who own the biggest farms, mainly because they'll then keep funding and voting for Republicans.
No. 2: Whack America's poorest families. Thompson is banking on the minginess of extremist Republicans who oppose the Ag Department's hunger programs. Those programs help 40 million poverty-stricken Americans (including 1 in 5 children) afford the groceries they need.
Which brings me to, of all things, our nation's Farm Bill. This sprawling piece of legislation, updated every five years, is intended to combine the interests of farmers with consumers, production with conservation, grassroots cultures with corporate systems ... etc. It's not easy. In fact, downright messy.
But now, with plutocratic ideologues and culture warriors dominating their caucus, Republican lawmakers have not even been able to produce an agreement among themselves, so the comprehensive farm bill America needs is a year overdue and no longer being pursued by the party in charge. Instead, the GOP's ag committee chairman, Rep. Glenn Thompson, is jerry-rigging a stripped-down sham of a bill limited to the two spending priorities of MAGA Republicans:
No. 1: Hand out many billions more of our taxpayers' dollars to subsidize agribusiness giants and rich speculators who own the biggest farms, mainly because they'll then keep funding and voting for Republicans.
No. 2: Whack America's poorest families. Thompson is banking on the minginess of extremist Republicans who oppose the Ag Department's hunger programs. Those programs help 40 million poverty-stricken Americans (including 1 in 5 children) afford the groceries they need.
https://www.creators.com/read/jim-hightower