“A harvest of disgrace”
Good summary of the farm bill and why politicians–except John McCain–voted for this idiotic bill. (I.e., kudos to McCain for not voting for this monstrosity.)
Most interesting paragraph:
Consider their latest masterpiece, the 2007 farm bill that Congress this week delivered, several months late, to George Bush. Congress and the farmers have conspired to make an already unjust agricultural policy—a system that has subsidised the “farming” activities of such paupers as David Letterman and David Rockefeller—even worse. Through a complicated and overlapping system of government-sponsored insurance, counter-cyclical assistance, disaster aid and legacy payments tied to nothing, the five-year, $307 billion bill lavishes cash on wealthy farm households, the main restriction on collecting it being a means test that applies to couples making more than $1.5m a year. And even that can be avoided by employing a reasonably competent accountant.
Definitely not this Congress’s finest hour (actually, I don’t recall this Congress having a “finest hour” at all, but this is bad even by their low standards.)
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In other news, it really makes it a quandary to know who to vote for. At the highest level, McCain’s risky/bold decision not to vote for a stupid bill makes me really want to vote for him. He’s not perfect, but he’s stood his ground pretty well on a number of issues (immigration comes to mind, too). He compromised somewhat on the Bush tax cuts (which he initially voted against), of course. But the fact that he’d take unpopular stances at high risk soon before and now, during, his presidential bid is awe-inspiring.
Don’t get me wrong. There are definitely things I like about Obama, but voting for the farm bill isn’t one of them. His lack of backbone is hugely discouraging.