WELFARE FOR FARMERS....5/9/23

There’s a website that you can access that shows how much money a particular farmer gets from the Federal Government each year in the form of agricultural subsidies. Check out: https://farm.ewg.org/ to find your favorite recipient.

While some of these payments may be warranted during times of drought, pestilence, flooding, or other natural disasters, particularly for small family farms, the vast majority of this free money nowadays flows to owners of large corporate farms with massive holdings involving thousands of acres, and who are able to easily withstand losses from time to time without taking our tax money.

California Republican Representative David Valadao lined his pocketbook with close to $3.5 million in taxpayer subsidies between 1995 and 2021, helping to offset costs on his 4 dairy farms.

Then there’s Frank Lucas, a farm owner and a Congressman from Oklahoma, who has taken in around $100,000 from the government over the last 20 years. He is one of 8 farmer / congressmen who receive subsidies, and who sit on the powerful House Agriculture Committee that writes legislation dictating how many farmers get checks in the mail each year.

Is there a more blatant example of “conflict of interest”?

I don’t think so.