The Farm Bill
You would think that a bill that had something for everyone would be able pass through the congress easily. There were subsidies for both agribusiness and small farmers in the bill, but the largest part of the bill was to support the food stamp and nutrition programs. Generally I like the idea of cheaper food and making sure that farmers continue to farm. I'm at least two generations away from living off the land
The Senate has passed its version of the bill, but the House who thought it had a deal on its bill, watched that deal go up in smoke. Both sides were supposed to hold their noses while they voted for the bill and then it would go to conference.
I did receive food stamps for three months while at ISU in 1970, $28.00 per month. A room mate applied for them and he qualified not only himself but his room mates as head of the household. A home visit subsequently corrected the error and in retrospect we probably should repaid the government for the money we received. For a short period of time the gang of five had more money for beer and spent very little of its scarce resources on food. If you bought bread and peanut butter, canned tuna, pasta, and hamburger, and milk, and hot dogs the subsidy lasted the entire month. Steak, seafood, and desserts blew the food budget and there were usually fights over both food and beer at the end of the month. It was a learning experience.
Fast forward, lots of people receive money from to pay for some or all of the food they eat. Others go to food pantries at churches or social service agencies when they run out of food or money or both at the end of the week or month.
Should able bodied folks be required to work for food stamps. Most people would say absolutely yes but an awful lot of people who receive nutritional assistance are working, taking care of small children or are elderly and need the help. The homeless, mentally ill, drug addicted and others that know how to manipulate the system, turn benefits into cash need more supervision rather than punishment. In periods of high unemployment, job search requirements are not very effective in lowering poverty rates and the need for food assistance.
A gambling metaphor is probably in order here. I once watched the night shift supervisor at the dog track give $10.00 to tide over a regular. I asked the supervisor if that was a good idea. " He said probably $8.00 would be bet in the next hour and the rest would be used for bus fare or gas and that they guy would be back on Friday if not before that and pay me back. The guy is a good customer, I think it makes sense to keep him in the game. Nobody makes any money if he stays at home and watches TV."
You might not like the details but sometimes compromise can be a win-win proposition
The Senate has passed its version of the bill, but the House who thought it had a deal on its bill, watched that deal go up in smoke. Both sides were supposed to hold their noses while they voted for the bill and then it would go to conference.
I did receive food stamps for three months while at ISU in 1970, $28.00 per month. A room mate applied for them and he qualified not only himself but his room mates as head of the household. A home visit subsequently corrected the error and in retrospect we probably should repaid the government for the money we received. For a short period of time the gang of five had more money for beer and spent very little of its scarce resources on food. If you bought bread and peanut butter, canned tuna, pasta, and hamburger, and milk, and hot dogs the subsidy lasted the entire month. Steak, seafood, and desserts blew the food budget and there were usually fights over both food and beer at the end of the month. It was a learning experience.
Fast forward, lots of people receive money from to pay for some or all of the food they eat. Others go to food pantries at churches or social service agencies when they run out of food or money or both at the end of the week or month.
Should able bodied folks be required to work for food stamps. Most people would say absolutely yes but an awful lot of people who receive nutritional assistance are working, taking care of small children or are elderly and need the help. The homeless, mentally ill, drug addicted and others that know how to manipulate the system, turn benefits into cash need more supervision rather than punishment. In periods of high unemployment, job search requirements are not very effective in lowering poverty rates and the need for food assistance.
A gambling metaphor is probably in order here. I once watched the night shift supervisor at the dog track give $10.00 to tide over a regular. I asked the supervisor if that was a good idea. " He said probably $8.00 would be bet in the next hour and the rest would be used for bus fare or gas and that they guy would be back on Friday if not before that and pay me back. The guy is a good customer, I think it makes sense to keep him in the game. Nobody makes any money if he stays at home and watches TV."
You might not like the details but sometimes compromise can be a win-win proposition
Alright, from here in farm country, I can see the corn field from the back window. The problem with the farm bill on the subsidy side is that a lot of the money goes to the big combines and lobbyists. Family farms don't get much. Price supports suck up a lot of money also, like those for sugar and milk. This does nothing more than distort the market. In your gambling analogy it's like $8 out of the $10 dollars went to the gambler's support bureau. Which lobbies the government for $10 for gamblers in need.
ReplyDeletePrice supports for sugar sure help big sugar growers down here in Florida. If you are an environmentalist it is corporate welfare on steroids and you dislike that so much that you have the government work deals to buy their land so the Everglades doesn't get screwed up. A little ironic eh? Farming is a lot like gambling and maybe the government would be better off ginning up crop insurance and disaster relief when the weather goes crazy and beyond that head for the sidelines.
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