Why the Farm Bill is bad for America
Every five years, the Congress passes a new farm bill. It's a huge, complicated mess that doesn't work in the best interest of all Americans anymore. While it used to be about effective supports for the American farmer, it's really all about artificially supporting major agribusiness corporations, at the expense of the American taxpayer. To the tune of $25 billion dollars per year. Plus a huge overproduction of corn, wheat, and soybeans, which means cheap soda domestically and artificially depressed crop prices worldwide.
Michael Pollan, the author of The Omnivore's Dilemma, wrote a piece for last week's New York Times magazine that exposes the farm bill's problems. They are legion, and hopefully Congress will address them as they craft the bill that will replace the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 - set to expire at the end of this year.
