Many conservatives want farm bills to stop coupling food
stamps to agricultural subsidies. They see the linkage as an unsavory deal
between urban Democrats and rural Republicans to waste the people's money. But not all conservatives are principled
conservatives. Principled conservatives oppose the farm subsidies as a
monstrous example of corporate welfare. The other kind thinks it can strip
spending from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program while preserving
the farm rip-offs.
Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin offers an example of the
latter. "Farm-state lawmakers should no longer assent to the crass
legislative tactic of combining farm policy and food stamps," he writes
for National Review Online. "Instead of greasing the skids, the rapid
growth in the use of food stamps is actually a major factor holding up the
five-year reauthorization of agriculture programs."……. The politics stink,
and so do the aesthetics. Compassionate conservatives are appalled by the food
stamp cuts, especially after lawmakers actually fattened the farm payouts --
and at a time of fabulous crop prices. "The
conservative war on food stamps is the most baffling political move of the
year," writes Henry Olsen of the Ethics & Public Policy Center.
"What gives? And why are conservatives overlooking a far more egregious
abuse of taxpayer dollars in the farm bill?"….To Read More….
No comments:
Post a Comment