NYT: Bush Is Said to Seek Deep Cuts in Farm and Commodity Programs

[kskiska]

WASHINGTON, Feb. 5 - President Bush will seek deep cuts in farm and commodity programs in his new budget and in a major policy shift will propose overall limits on subsidy payments to farmers, administration officials said Saturday.

Such limits would help reduce the federal budget deficit and would inject market forces into the farm economy, the officials said.

The proposal puts Mr. Bush at odds with some of his most ardent supporters in the rural South, including cotton and rice growers in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi.

The new chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Thad Cochran of Mississippi, and more than 100 farm groups are gearing up to fight the White House proposal. The administration's willingness to push the proposal, despite such protests, suggests how tight the new budget will be.

Most of the subsidies are paid to large farm operators growing cotton and rice and, to a lesser degree, corn, soybeans and wheat.

more…
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/06/politics/06budget.html

[iamjoy]

2. I Am Sure They (Farmers) Will Be Happy

So long as Dubya rams through that Marriage Restriction Amendment.

Anyway, when the farms fail, Republicans can blame it on taxes.

[hadrons]

9. no, when the farms fail, Republicans can blame it on gay marriages

looks like that "values" vote didn't work out for the farmers

[stray cat]

3. He courted the farmers only long enough to get re-elected.

[illflem]

4. and after the farms fail and we become dependent on China

for our food supply then they declare war on us it will be a easy win, they'll just starve us out.

[flyarm]

21. heck we already are dependant on china..and japan too..

who do you think has been holding up our economy?? surely not us ..we are flat assed broke...the chinese have loaned us the money for this war of lies along with the japan..japan has bee recently been holding up our economy when china said enough...now china is looking to tie their money with the euro..and so is russia..so guess what..our money isn't worth crap if japan bales on us!! well its not worth crap anyway..its all iou"s to communistic countries...what a guy * has been ..how bout a cheer for * dear value loving farmers!!

fly:nopity:

[illflem]

46. You're right but the US still produces most of it own food

[LiberallyInclined]

83. without subsidies, food prices will rise...

and hit the poorest the hardest.

[MAlibdem]

65. us dependent on china for food?

please, china's rural population can't feed themselves, let alone us.

[Canuckistanian]

5. If this is what he's doing to "the heartland"

Then just imagine what's planned for the blue states and big cities?
Be afraid.
Be VERY afraid.
:scared:

[flyarm]

33. we were afraid....we voted accordingly!!

remember we know * was behind 9/11.. we were the ones attacked..we knew * was a liar and a murderer!! we lost our loved ones to the murderer and liar *!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

we were afraid ...we kept telling them that loud and clear in the heartland..they just did't listen!!

now my feeling for them is tough!

from a 33 yr american airlines ny based flt attendant who worked her ass off telling them~!!!

we were lied to on 9/11 and now the heartland can thump their bible and join us in the lies they have now stuck us with for the next 4 years!

fly:nopity:

[Lizzie Borden]

42. This is a hell of a way to pay back

all those red state voters! }( }(

[hollowdweller]

43. Good enough for them! I've heard farmers bitch about gov't spending while

being totally oblivious to the fact that they are big recipients of gov't largesse. Maybe this will snap them back to reality.

[pokercat999]

67. Cows on welfare. n/t

[Mich Otter]

76. Red State Voters

In two years the red state voters will be whipped up in frenzy of hating gays and will forget all about whatever the Repukers have done.

[Skittles]

85. LOL.............Mich

you know it :hi:

[bluestateguy]

6. Crickets chirping

I don't have time to weep for some farmer in Georgia who voted for Bush and is now being thanked in this way. In fact, he's getting what he deserves.

[WindRavenX]

8. not so fast there...

...if farms fail, EVERYONE feels it. Food prices are already going up; a major catastrophe would skyrocket food prices to unimaginable levels.

[cap]

19. no problem there...

if farms fail they will be more than likely family farms -- not agribusiness. Food is being imported more and more...Agriculture is also being globalized.

Check out www.bunge.com

[flyarm]

35. yeah well when words from fellow americans don't

get through to the masses..then it will take everyones pocketbooks..just think those of us who were preaching are going to pay for the ignorance of those who didnt give a rats crap enough to pay attention!! or were too ignorant to do any research or read a newspaper, or ask questions!!!!!!!!!!

fly:nopity:

[durablend]

62. * and the repukes don't care

"THEY GOT THEIRS" and that's all that matters.

The fact that you'll have to pay with multiple body parts to afford groceries is your own problem (hence..."OWNERSHIP society"). Maybe you should get another job (or four) and kwit whining

/sarcasm off

[niblick]

11. subsidizing big companies

Aren't subsidies of any sort helping "big business" too much? They are the ones who get all that government money in these support efforts, not the family farmer. The biggies in agriculture are just like other biggies we despise for taken our jobs overseas ...

[ultraist]

41. Not quite

At least the "biggies" that provide jobs HERE do something for the US working population.

Rewarding companies that outsource with CORPORATE WELFARE should be put to a stop!

[KDLarsen]

84. .. and how many of those jobs goes to illegal immigrants?

</prejudice> (or is it - please enlighten me :) )

[Piperay]

7. Red States gave him the pResidency

and now he is really sticking 'it' to them, nice reward for their loyalty. The lesson learned should be to never trust a drunken coked-up crooked evil liar like chimp.:silly:

[ultraist]

10. Cuts to corporate welfare for large agribusinesses

It sounds to me like the little family farms were getting run out of business by the big farm corporations who received subsidies and found a loop hole to exceed the maximum through the loan program. Family farmers are supporting these cuts.

This may put a dent in Bush's support in Southern states. Cutting these subsidies is a backdoor way to outsource our agriculture production. The article notes that third world farmers were not pleased with these subsidies and this has been a global trade issue.

Too bad those agribusiness owners voted for Bush and didn't think about the fact that their industry could be outsourced too!

excerpts from OP article:
Mr. Bush would set a firm overall limit of $250,000 on subsidies that can now exceed $1 million in some cases. Mr. Bush's farm proposal found support from some people who frequently criticize his policies. For example, Kenneth Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, a research and advocacy group, said that it would reduce payments to large agribusiness operations and that the savings would reduce pressure on Congress to cut conservation programs.

Agriculture Department officials said Mr. Bush's proposals would cut federal payments to farmers by $587 million, or about 5 percent, next year and would save $5.7 billion in the coming decade. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they did not want to upstage release of the president's budget, scheduled for Monday.

In theory, the maximum payment to a farmer, through multiple entities, is now $360,000 a year. But Keith J. Collins, chief economist at the Agriculture Department, said that growers had found many legal ways to get around the limit and that some growers received several times that amount. One type of aid, which involves marketing assistance loans, is not subject to any limit, he said. In setting a firm overall limit of $250,000, the president's plan would tighten requirements for the recipients of such payments to be "actively engaged" in agriculture, and it would generally prevent farmers from claiming additional payments through multiple entities.

Farm subsidies have been a major issue in global trade talks, as poor farmers in the developing world demand that the United States and other wealthy countries cut back subsidies for their domestic producers. Efforts to cap farm payments have produced odd alliances. Fiscal conservatives like the Heritage Foundation have joined some environmental groups and family farmers in the Midwest in supporting stricter limits. Opponents include the American Farm Bureau Federation. the nation's largest farm organization, as well as many commodity groups and politicians of both parties from rice and cotton states.

[jedr]

12. never could figure why

farmers are repugs'....think it's the old labor union thing....if anyone needs a union it's farmers...try working 16hr days ,seven days a week to lose money...that's another situation soon to blow-up

[ultraist]

22. Small family farmers used to be Democrats

Welcome jedr! :hi:

At least in the South before they turned Dixiecrat and started voting rethug. The Democratic party was THE working man's party. I think the split came when the Rethugs started using social issues such as integration, abortion, gay rights and gun rights to woo voters to their side. Democrats lost a LOT of their base when the Rethugs figured out to do this.

These big corporate farms are big business and they LOVED the corporate welfare they recieved from rethugs.

[catmandu57]

13. N. Dakota S. Dakota Nebraska Kansas Oklahoma Texas

Red from top to bottom. Every election I watch as the heartland of our country turns red on the map, and after every election the repukes stick a big fucking knife in their backs.

You'de think that after a while people would wise up to who it is sticking it to them.

[flyarm]

37. you can only ..

brainwash those that are 1. lazy 2. to dumb to look at the truth
3. people who are complacent and don't care 4. are single issue idiots!

:nopity:

[Yavin4]

14. This Relates To What I Posted Yesterday

I believe that many Americans take the Democrats for granted:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3058715&mesg_id=3058715


These farmers foolishly believe that the Democrats in congress will restore these cuts and eventually, they'll get their subsidies. That's why so many of them vote for someone that's against their own economic interests.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

23. Please elaborate.

[Yavin4]

34. My Position Is That Many Americans Take The Dems For Granted

They believe that no matter how Bush f*cks things up, a Dem will come along to fix it, like CLinton fixed 12 years of Reagan/Bush f*ck-ups. Recall that in the 80s, Reagan wanted to cut a lot of things like farm price supports, but it was the Dems that fought off these cuts. Yet, many farmers voted for Reagan again in 1984.

[flyarm]

38. you have that right!!

and when * starts sending all their kids to war in iran..they better not cry to the dems!!
i have had it supporting the red states and they forever sell out their country for stupidity!!

fly:nopity:

[genieroze]

75. You know what the problem with this is? Every rigged election there

are less and less Democrats. Without a good number of Dem's there will be nobody to oppose anything the Repukes do. Then what? It's just like outsourcing, as more and more jobs are lost who is going to be working to be able to afford anything? Sooner or later the shit hits the fan, and then we are in for a shitstorm.

[leesa]

15. Good. They voted for Bush and they are getting what they deserve.

So sad that Republicans red state farmers will lose their welfare.

[AngryAmish]

16. This is a good thing (really)

First, the caps are to agri-business. Any farmer can get up to $250k in support. The only people who will be hurt are agri-business. This may save the family farm while making food cheaper.

However, don't expect it to pass. Farmers control too may votes and are too greedy.

[flyarm]

17. gee aren't the farmers ...

all the dopes who voted for this war criminal..guess they weren't worried about the soldiers in a lie for a war, or all those unemployed while they were raking it in under * last year..wonder how they are going to feel when the subsidies are cut and they are standing on unemployment lines..and their farms get taken over by the corps??

i have no sympathy!!

none!!..let em bitch about it in church in the mid west!!

fly:nopity:

[Massacure]

18. The people who have parents of farmers at my school all wanted Bush to win

Guess they are getting bitch slapped now eh?

[ultraist]

27. lol! Bitch slapped or Bush slapped? :D

[Mend]

20. Anyone know how to follow up on the farmers' feelings

about this? For those who live in rural areas, please let us know if there are any protests to bush, on local radio shows or letters to the editor. I know about cognitive dissonance but surely this should raise some questions in their minds. For those who go to conservative web sites, it would be interesting to know how they are spinning this.

[flyarm]

26. yeah send them care packages...

filled with all your left over kerry /edwards bumper stickers!!
i have saved alot of that stuff to send to all those who thought * spoke for their values..i can't wait to send those care packages out!! and i will wrap them lovely , in pretty baskets with lovely bows...no note nessesary..other than...why did you screw yourself ...and your nation??

fly:nopity:

[sandnsea]

24. have to see more

It looks good on its face, but nothing these people do is ever good for the little guy so I doubt this will be either.

[ultraist]

31. It generally is a good thing in that it is a cut in corporate welfare BUT

It is also essentially outsourcing another major industry, ag production. Just as textile manufacturing, tech jobs, R&D, and other industries have been outsourced.

It WILL result in a pretty wide scale job loss. Those agribusinesses employ a lot of workers.

IF they are going to cut corporate welfare, it should be to companies that OUTSOURCE, not to companies that provide jobs here on our soil!

We can expect to be eatting a lot less homegrowned food in the near future.

[goodboy]

25. Farmers I've talked to said they voted for * because he's a good christian

and a moral man.

They're reaping what they sow...

[flyarm]

28. yeah well send your good friends this...

sandiego.indymedia.org | Conspiracy of Silence video Child sex ring that reached Bush Sr's Whitehouse.

http://sandiego.indymedia.org/en/2003/03/4516.shtml


and this!!

http://www.membersdirectoryonline.com/roomc/ustnhendersonville/conspiracyofsilence.htm

yeah real christians those *es!!

fly:nopity:

[VegasWolf]

29. Yeah, they stopped gay marriage dead in its tracks before it ruined

their own marriages.

[goodboy]

52. or their crops. nm

[PROGRESSIVE1]

32. If that's so then I say #%*@ the farmers. I'll buy my food from...

CONAGRA. Yes they are Repugs I'm sure but at least I get more selection at a lower cost!

[hollowdweller]

44. Then they should have faith in God to provide instead of the govt right?

[freethought]

30. The "Red" states wanted him!

They got him!! They made their bed now they can sleep in it!

[catmandu57]

39. Trouble is

we got him as well.

[freethought]

40. True. But ,

we can now throw a "We tried to warn you this might be coming!" back at them.

[goodboy]

51. nothin's more gratifying than an "I TOLD YOU SO!"

[wellst0nev0ter]

78. All We Have Now Is Shadenfreude

[goodboy]

50. yup./...eom

[Rex]

36. They voted for him

They will pass the shit sandwich unto us at the grocery store.

THANKS BUSH.

[Zynx]

45. I have no problem with this - really

Most of these subsidies tend to go to farms in geographic locations that have no business growing crops - such as Arizona.

[cloud75]

47. now people will understand the net gain from tax cuts is....

ZERO...the government needs to make up that money somewhere.

[98geoduck]

53. The net is more like -25% by the time you figure inflation of everything

that the average citizen requires.

[cloud75]

55. you are right shrub is taking us backward i'm more upset for those...

people who are struggling in this new way of life more than ever i miss Bill Clinton..

[cloud75]

48. Does anyone remember the "Bush-Cheney Farm and Ranch...

Team" in rual areas like mine idiots had bumper stickers indicating they were part of that team...well it looks like they are getting screwed...damn the way shrub is starting his second term it won't matter who runs in 08.

[durablend]

63. Yep...right down the road, in fact...

All those "B/C Farm/Ranch Team" signs I had to stomach before the election right down the road (red section of blue PA)

Poor farmers are going to get ass raped in spades (hey, YOU voted for him!)

(nelson)HAHA!(/nelson)

[lovuian]

49. Oh He has sold out the farmers WHOAH!!!

thats his base... boy are they in for a surprise!!!

[smoogatz]

54. Here we go...

This is likely just the first round of draconian budget cuts to come. It's the core strategy of the far-right wing small-government nutjobs like Grover Norquist--cut taxes like a mofo, then slash discretionary and entitlement spending. It's all about making government so small you can "drown it in the bathtub." My guess is that the red states, overall beneficiaries of the current system (while blue states have been footing the bill) aren't going to like small government as much as they think.

[Greybnk48]

56. Small Government!!!!

This Republican govt. is the largest most intrusive govt. of my lifetime (55 years)!! Washington is now like the Kremlin of old. The term "small govt." is a joke and a lie.

[Minstrel Boy]

70. "Government" is being privatized.

Responsible government is shrinking, but corporate/military power is increasing.

[Judi Lynn]

57. Farm subsidies would take deep cuts under Bush plan

Feb. 5, 2005, 11:47PM

Farm subsidies would take deep cuts under Bush plan
Proposed limits will face a tough fight in Congress
By ROBERT PEAR
New York Times

WASHINGTON - President Bush will seek deep cuts in farm and commodity programs in his new budget and will propose overall limits on subsidy payments to farmers, administration officials said Saturday. Such limits would help reduce the federal budget deficit and inject market forces into the farm economy, the administration says.

The proposal puts Bush at odds with some of his most ardent supporters in the South, including cotton and rice growers in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi.

The new chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Thad Cochran of Mississippi, and more than 100 farm groups are gearing up to fight the White House proposal, which reflects a major shift in farm policy. The administration's willingness to push the proposal despite such protests suggests how tight the new budget will be.

Most of the subsidies are paid to large farm operators growing cotton, rice and, to a lesser degree, corn, soybeans and wheat. Bush would set a firm overall limit of $250,000 on subsidies that now exceed $1 million in some cases.
(snip/...)

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/politics/3026137

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'll bet they wonder why they didn't hear about this BEFORE the election.

[Haymare22]

58. * is also approving

wholesale slaughter of wild horses.

[VegasWolf]

59. Didn't we have this huge surplus just a couple of years ago before

the new management took over?

[Judi Lynn]

80. That was my impression! How long did it take until they vaporized it?

It seems absolutely impossible. It would be if we had honorable people running the show.

[bvar22]

60. I guess the CorpoFarms....

...didn't cough up enough bucks for the chimp*s coronation!

Am I reading this wrong, because it looks like this cut will mostly affect the CorpoFarms, and not the Family Farms?

[LynneSin]

61. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

All those repukes voted for Bush and he's cutting off their welfare. Bought time since their welfare is being paid for by tax dollars coming in from the big blue states like New York, California, Pennsylvania, Michigan, etc.

[mitchum]

64. Cry me a fucking river, Old McDonald

looks like they're gonna get massively screwed by their fellow "traditionalist"

[amandabeech]

73. Don't beat on the McDonalds!

My uncle, Donald Daniel McDonald, a semi-retired farmer with a small beef/feed operation, voted for both Gore and Bush.

He is very upset with Bush, and especially, with the war.

He once worked in an auto factory, and I think it changed his thinking.

He's not a supporter of gay marriage, but he doesn't base his vote on moral/religous issues.

[MAlibdem]

66. This is probably a good idea, actually.

Farm subsidies are bad for western consumers and third world countries alike - they raise prices on food artificially so we pay more and foreign farmers cannot compete. However, these sort of cuts in farm aid need to be accompanied by large, one time, pay outs and job retraining to cushion the blow on our people - something Bush would never dream of doing.

[CoffeeCat]

68. I heard Bush speak in Iowa...he said the EXACT opposite to farmers!!

I live in Iowa and heard Bush's campaign speech at the Farm Progress Show that was held in the early fall. There were 12,000 people in attendance, most of them driving pick-up trucks and concerned about farm issues.

Bush kept talking about "strengthening family farms" and other pro-farm rhetoric that drew loud applause. He never once mentioned plans to cut farm subsidies.

Here's a direct quote from Bush during the speech:
"A strong farm economy is good for our nation's economy, and we have a strong farm economy today. We're seeing record exports for farm products. Farm income is up. And that means people are making a living here in rural-rural Iowa. And that is good for the United States of America, and I intend to keep it that way." (Applause.)

Regardless of how you feel about farm subsidies--it is apparent that Bush is a malignant liar. I guarantee you, the farmers who cheered him during the Farm Progress Show did not expect cuts in subsidies. They voted for him, because Bush was kow-towing to his conservative, rural, base.

Bush has done the same thing with the fundies. He campaigned on amending the Constitution to ban gay marriage. Then he backed off and said he had no plans to go after the issue. Only after the fundies freaked, did Bush mention it again--during the SOTUS.

Bush has lied to everyone.

It appears he courted the fundies and other conservative/rural demographics to get elected. It appears his base is a small, radical group of neocons, because that's the only agenda I see him furthering.

FRIGHTENING. TRULY FRIGHTENING.

[Judi Lynn]

74. "...and I intend to keep it that way:" Bush. Goodlordalmighty!

That speech should be attached to articles about _Bush's plans to cut subsidies. Anything short of this would be dishonest reporting, wouldn't it? He's so crooked. If he said he's going to "keep it that way," you'd tend to believe he's not going to CHANGE it.

I think there should be a lot more information available to people about how U.S.-subsidized corn farmers have flooded Mexico with corn which is far cheaper to buyers there than they can afford to grow it, and how they have been deprived of their only means of making a living, thereby sending them north across the border. How could Lou Dobbs not know about this? He raves about illegal immigrants incessantly. We also did this to Mexican sugar cane growers with our South Florida subsidized sugar producers, like the Cuban "exile" Fanjul brothers who pour huge amounts of campaign contributions into both Republican and Democratic coffers and take away millions and millions annually in subsidies.

The GAO estimates that the sugar program translates into about five cents for each pound of sugar produced in the United States. Taking Flo-Sun's output of 650,000 tons of sugar, that means that about $65 million per year goes directly to the Fanjuls' bottom line as a result of the price-support system. A more complicated calculation, taking into account the acreage, its milling operations, and apportioned benefits, was performed by the staff of Rep. Dick Armey (R-Texas). It also arrived at benefits of $65 million.

Florida environmentalists have produced an estimate that is even higher -- some $85 million in benefits to the Fanjul family, or as much as $125 million if the profits they earn from their Dominican Republic business are included. (The Armey estimate does not include any calculation of what the Fanjuls earn from their Dominican Republic holdings. According to George Barley, a Florida real estate businessman and chair of Save Our Everglades and several related Everglades preservation organizations, the import part of the U.S. sugar program allows the Fanjuls to import sugar into the United States from the Dominican Republic and sell it at a higher price than they would get on the world market.)
(snip/...)

http://www.opensecrets.org/pubs/cashingin_sugar/sugar08.html



Pepe and Alfie Fanjul.
5 cents on each pound of sugar
goes to people like these guys.

What do you want to bet _Bush will find a way to let the Fanjuls keep their subsidies?

[d_b]

69. But I thought Bush was a good ol' boy from Texas?

Surely he wouldn't do that to farmers.

[Plaid Adder]

71. Wow, this administration will screw ANYBODY!

Yeesh.

OK, first of all, clearly this has nothing to do with balancing the budget. He could balance the budget tomorrow by firing Halliburton and pulling out of Iraq. This is about, as they so delicately put it, 'injecting market forces into the farm economy.' The market forces are already there, thanks to agribusiness, but I guess he felt like Monsanto wasn't getting ENOUGH of a return on their investment.

I can only HOPE this is going to backfire. I mean, I know we gay people are very scary indeed. But are we really scary enough to make you forget that the bank foreclosed on your family farm?

I'd like to be the first to take this opportunity to welcome the 'red state' rural vote into the Family Of Those Fucked Over By Bush. Join us!

Yeesh again, I say,

The Plaid Adder

[Igel]

72. For years NGOs and developing countries have

wanted the US to cut its subsidies to its agricultural section. A major point at nearly every summit that involves Europe, the US, and any developing country with an agricultural base (that can produce).

* does it, and suddenly the impact on the US becomes clear. Nobody realized this before?

[yorkiemommie1]

77. kick n/t

[Judi Lynn]

79. Kick!

[dhinojosa]

81. Bush Is Said to Seek Sharp Cuts in Subsidy Payments to Farmers

Bush Is Said to Seek Sharp Cuts in Subsidy Payments to Farmers
By ROBERT PEAR

Published: February 6, 2005

WASHINGTON, Feb. 5 - President Bush will seek deep cuts in farm and commodity programs in his new budget and in a major policy shift will propose overall limits on subsidy payments to farmers, administration officials said Saturday.

Such limits would help reduce the federal budget deficit and would inject market forces into the farm economy, the officials said.

The proposal puts Mr. Bush at odds with some of his most ardent supporters in the rural South, including cotton and rice growers in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/06/politics/06budget.html?ex=1108357200&en=0f6136fa8547d8fa&ei=5065&partner=MYWAY

[flyarm]

tough!

he's also cutting food stamps for the poor and screw the poor on medicaide..and he is raising prices for vets prescriptions...

now what values did all these people vote for??? start praying folks..your gonna need your bible!!

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/020605Y.shtml
t r u t h o u t - Farmers and the Poor Hit Hard by Bush Budget

President Bush will propose a 2006 budget Monday that, despite record spending of about $2.5 trillion, will call for billions of dollars in cuts that will touch people on food stamps and farmers on price supports, children under Medicaid and adults in public housing.

Bush's budget will cut "where the money is," Bixby said Saturday, "but it's also where the resistance is." The lower-income Americans who benefit from food stamps and Medicaid do not typically provide the Republican Party with many votes or campaign contributions.The proposed budget will give states less flexibility to include working poor families with children as beneficiaries, sources said.
"A budget that requires further cuts or structural weakening in these important programs will put at risk the promising environmental benefits of the bill and the nutritional health of some of the poorest populations in our country," the letter said.


and sorry heartland....but i have no pity..we warned you!! and we blue states voted accordingly!! you were the suckers who screwed us all!!

fly
:nopity:

[pdurod1]

Wait 'till Brazils farm economy comes online

Cut down the rain forests, now excellent farmland and they have a longer growing season. It's only a matter of time before the independent American farmers and COOP's are wacked, then even the big "walmart type" corporate farms are next.

[VegasWolf]

Why does bush hate the farmers? n/t

[IrishBloodEngHeart]

the second thing bush has proposed in 4 plus years I agree with!

Most of this money goes to agri-business anyway, not family farmers.

(the other Bush thing I agreed with was the national do not call list)

[The Blue Knight]

Good.

Looks like the "ranch/farm" team, that voted in droves for Bush got what's coming to them.

[Rainscents]

I agree... I don't feel sorry for the Farmers.

They are conservators and they think Republicans are on;y one who cares about the farmers. What gets me is... Democrats are the one who always helped out the farmers and farmer just can't see this.

[dhinojosa]

Here's a sample

http://www.fthisjob.com/node/775#comment

[Nite Owl]

Wonder if this will be a trade

Get the farm subsidies back if you vote for the Social Security privitization. Could be a way that he will bring up the votes.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

Lots of Red State farmers voted for the Chimpinator.

They aren't gonna like this. It's not like cutting welfare for poor urban people, after all...

[dhinojosa]

Exactly right.

This voter bloc needs to come to their senses.

[n2mark]

I don't feel sorry for the farmers

they voted for the shrub. Can't have your cake and eat it too. Farmers, you've been duped.

[ogradda]

1. it's not like they can take their votes back.

idiots.

[Nostradamus]

82. NZ abolished farm subsides 20 years ago and our farm sector is booming

Food subsides are bad news.

They encourage waste and drive down the prices that farmers in developed countries get for their food.

The New Zealand famr sector was keep afloat by subsides. The reformist Labour government removed them overnight. Due to our clean green policy ( no nukes, no GE ) NZ food gets a worldwide premium.

[Maddy McCall]

86. I never thought I'd say this, but "GO, THAD!"

Where's Trent in this mess, though?

[truthisfreedom]

87. interesting. this will be fun to watch.

i hope it backfires big.