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De Omnibus Dubitandum - Lux Veritas

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Taxpayers Pay High Costs for Crop Insurance Subsidies

by Fran Smith on September 13, 2013
Bloomberg on September 9 published an in-depth article on the high costs of federal crop insurance – likely to be increased even more if the House version of a proposed farm bill gets passed. The article noted that last year the U.S. Department of Agriculture spent $14 billion insuring farmers against losses due to crop failure or income. Proposed House legislation would up that to cover so-called “shallow losses” – that would guarantee up to 90 percent of a farmer’s income.
It’s estimated that U.S. taxpayers fund about 60 percent of the premiums farmers pay. And there are no caps on those crop insurance subsidies, which encourages farmers to plant on unproductive land, take higher risks, and claim losses. The names of the crop insurance recipients are also not public.
As the Bloomberg article noted:….To Read More…..

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