Bush's war on the American farmer (which way would Iowa go now?)

[expatriot]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050207/ap_on_go_pr_wh/budget_glance_agriculture_1

Here are some snips from "Department budgets at a glance" coming out from the AP....

Would cut $587 million from farm price supports, mainly by cutting payments to farmers by 5 percent and reducing the annual ceiling on payments from $360,000 to $250,000. Would close loopholes allowing big cotton and rice operations to get payments well above the limits. Would reduce loan availability.

The administration would move $300 million from the department's foreign food aid program to the U.S. Agency for International Development. This would allow USAID to buy food products overseas for foreign aid, rather than from U.S. farmers.

Crop insurance spending would drop by $140 million annually — but not for another year. Minimum coverage levels would rise and direct payments would require producers to buy crop insurance.

[ultraist]

1. The family farmers support those cuts to big corp farmers

Cutting that corporate welfare to big agribusiness will eliminate jobs here though. They should be cutting corporate welfare to companies that outsource, FIRST.

[stray cat]

2. Arkansas might have swung for Kerry if they had seen the budget

Rice farmers may take a big hit there.

[Blue Gardener]

3. Iowa doesn't grow cotton and rice

I wonder how the south would have voted had they known about this? I can't imagine the cuts would hurt the big corporate farms any, but I'm pretty sure the small family farms will suffer. There are a lot of small farmers in this part of Iowa that did the right thing and voted for Kerry.

[Emboldened Chimp]

4. They voted for it, so fuck 'em

I have no sympathy.

[cornfedyank]

6. farmers can be a little slow... i thought HST stood for harry truman

but i just could not picture ole' Harry saying "weird", so i googled. Then i giggled.

[Nay]

10. My feeling exactly. Fuck 'em. And even more, I hope to have

the pleasure of buying their goddam land at 10 cents on the dollar when they go broke.
Here in the south, there are tons of farmers who think subsidies are their god-given right, and in the same breath they complain about welfare mothers, etc. They all voted for Bush. It will give me the greatest pleasure to see them suffer and be driven off their land.

You know what all these farmers think? They think they are the bigshots in their communities, but they do not realize that Bush and his ilk consider them peons, just like they consider all the rest of us as peons. Now they will find out, and I hope they all get it in the neck. I hope the light finally dawns on them as they watch as Tyson and Archer Daniels Midland and Smithfield Ham suck up their land, their livelihoods and their money.

Time to go back to school and retrain, folks!! Maybe you can get work digging ditches or slinging pig shit on your former farm! And just think, you can still bash gays in your little insular churches on Sundays!

[cornermouse]

5. Another round of small farmer bankruptcy.

Small farmers balance on a very thin line between profit and loss. Bush intends to push them over the edge.

[Kimber Scott]

7. Yeah, but there won't be gay people screwing in their backyard and/or

trying to recruit them. They get to keep their guns, in case they do find gay people anywhere and they don't have to worry about evolution being taught in science class anymore. What more could they ask for? I'm sure they don't really care, if they lose their livelihoods. How selfish would you have to be?

[montana500]

8. Fuck the farmers! These assholes voted for GWB. Enjoy! NM

nm

[Jacobin]

9. I know some of these idiots

Many will consider it 'gawd's will' or the price for "saving the country from gays and keeping their guns" or some other such claptrap.

At least they don't have that librul senator frum the N.E. giving the country over to al qaida.

(really, many think that way. Rush & company have them very thoroughly brainwashed, not to mention Faux.)

[youngdem]

11. Interesting

I was thinking about this earlier, all the Farmers in the area, Vote Bush, he's a good ol'boy. I wonder what they are thinking now? The proposed farm cuts will hurt them. It was Clinton that finally got a decent farm bill up and going,and all I heard was criticism about him. Now their "man" is the one that has screwed them. But the sad part is they will think that it is for a bigger better plan.

Well, at least they can hunt for their food with their guns when they have no money left.