Advertisement

The Time Has Come to Cut Farm Subsidies

By Washington Post, Washington Post - February 19, 2013

IN ADDITION to a great football game, this year’s Super Bowl audience witnessed a memorable paean to the hardworking American farmer: a Dodge commercial featuring the recorded gravelly tones of the late Paul Harvey. Farm-state politicians were quick to exploit it: Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) told reporters he “hope[s] the people of America will wake up and appreciate the family farmers of America.”

Actually, farming no longer resembles the hardscrabble family enterprise of so much mawkish marketing. Much of it is dominated by large operators supplying not only the U.S. dinner table but also far-flung export markets. Notwithstanding a major drought, net farm income for 2012 reached $112.8 billion, according to the Agriculture Department, down only slightly from the previous year’s record of $117.9 billion in 2011. USDA expects farm income to hit a post-1973 high of $128.2 billion in 2013.

Read Full Article »

Latest On Twitter

Follow Real Clear Politics

Real Clear Politics Video

More RCP Video Highlights »