http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3169862Oh my.
The mountain man primitive:
homWV Donating Member (1000+ posts) Thu Apr-17-08 08:50 AM
Original message
The Farm Bill and You
In the last two weeks I've seen more information provided on TV about the farm bill than I've seen in the last 10 years. I was wondering if it was sinking in for other people just what a big deal this bit of legislation is? Have you paid any attention to it, were there any surprises for you if you found out about it or is it something that you haven't been exposed to very much?
Alas for the mountain man primitive, trying to interest other primitives in a matter of substance.
Primitives want matters of ephermal sensation, not of substance, and so this bonfire hasn't gotten far.
And besides, asking the primitives about agricultural policies is like asking the primitives about Christianity or economics or history or sociology or just about anything else.
GoneOffShore Donating Member (1000+ posts) Thu Apr-17-08 08:55 AM
Response to Original message
1. It's highly important, but everyone here will ignore it.
No time right now to comment further(work, not DU), but I hope to re-visit the issue soon.
ThomWV Donating Member (1000+ posts) Thu Apr-17-08 08:58 AM
Response to Reply #1
2. I didn't know much about it but I was just awestruck
The amont of money involved, the outright fraud, the handouts to the already rich. Oh, and the pure and simple waste that is created by this monster.
fed-up Donating Member (1000+ posts) Thu Apr-17-08 09:12 AM
Response to Original message
3. I live in the Central Valley of Calif and am very aware of who gets what...
warpigs Donating Member (38 posts) Thu Apr-17-08 09:22 AM
Response to Original message
4. See what/who the payouts are
http://farm.ewg.org/farm /
In this site you can search for payouts by Representative District/County.
Yeah, I've consulted the Environmental Working Group web-site before; it's good, but since people hide their property behind corporate names, sometimes it's hard to discern who owns what.
A lot of Democrats, liberals, and "socialists" appear to own some good pieces of land.
underpants Donating Member (1000+ posts) Thu Apr-17-08 09:33 AM
Response to Original message
5. I have tried to but most of it is being worked out behind the scenes and I have read exactly that in articles.
I do know that there is going to be some subsidies of fruit and vegetables or at least more.
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/washingtonpostinvestigat...
Farm Bill Update: Taxing Matters
Back in 2002, then House Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest (R-Texas) helped engineer tens of billions of dollars in new spending for agriculture in a massive new farm bill that was denounced by fiscal conservatives. Combest's pivotal role in outflanking a reform faction and bringing President Bush on board for the increased spending was detailed in a 2006 Post series on waste in agricultural subsidies.
This week, in an ironic twist, the current chairman of the committee, Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), has emerged as the budget hawk -- fighting to pare billions of dollars in Senate-backed spending and tax breaks in an effort to save the faltering legislation. The concern of Peterson and a bipartisan group of farm state lawmakers in the House is that Senate greed could sink the whole bill.
Peterson's main gripe is with the Senate's insistence on adding $2.5 billion in tax breaks for timber interests, conservation groups, biofuels producers, wind farmers, and others. Retired farmers selling their land could spread out capital gains over 20 years, and would be excused from paying self-employment taxes on federal payments they get for putting land in a national conservation reserve.
Even more controversial is the Senate's inclusion of the Equine Equity Act, which allows faster depreciation of race horses. Peterson warned that could help wealthy Saudi princes. But Sen. Charles R. Grassley (R-Iowa) responded that Amish farmers would be helped by another part of the act that enables them to take a long-term capital gain on workhorses held for more than a year.
ThomWV Donating Member (1000+ posts) Thu Apr-17-08 09:40 AM
Response to Reply #5
6. I wonder how a person goes about Screaming on the internet?
Grab hands full of hair and pull out by the roots I guess.
Now, I really really really hope the mountain man primitive doesn't take this advice, but the best way to go around screaming on the internet is by doing what the sparkling husband primitive did, cutting off the nuts, so that all one can do is impotently storm and rage.
Anyway.
For the record, prominent liberal Democrat booster and former husband of Jane Fonda, the billionaire Ted Turner, is the largest recipient of agricultural subsidies in the state of Nebraska.
Since the billionaire liberal Democrat booster doesn't live in Nebraska, his checks are sent elsewhere; to Atlanta or Montana or perhaps even New York City. The money doesn't even spend an overnight here in Nebraska, boosting the Nebraska economy.
