Congressional rookies pose threat to farm programs, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow tells farmers

[Bozita]

Source: Grand Rapids Press

Congressional rookies pose threat to farm programs, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow tells farmers
Published: Monday, August 22, 2011, 3:34 PM Updated: Monday, August 22, 2011, 3:47 PM
By Jim Harger | The Grand Rapids Press


SPARTA – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Democratic U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow assured about 150 farmers and farm policy experts Monday they will fight for farm interests despite calls for deep cuts in Washington D.C.

The greatest threat in Washington is the GOP-controlled U.S. House, which has called for $48 billion in cuts to farm programs, said Stabenow, who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee.

“Our challenge right now, honestly, is all the new members in the House,” said Stabenow, who brought Vilsack to an hour-long meeting in a pole barn owned by Sparta farmer Jim Mays.

Most of those in attendance were concerned about the Farm Bill, which is re-written every four years and will be on the table next year. It includes a wide range of farm and food-related policies, ranging from farm subsidies to school lunch programs.


Read more: http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2011/08/new_members_in_congress_pose_t.html

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Now, THIS is how you run for office. Good move, Debbie!

[DURHAM D]

1. Good for Senator Stabenow - she actually called out the bastards. nt

[AlbertCat]

2. Congressional rookies pose threat to themselves.

[Kolesar]

3. Food, Inc does not need any more subsidies

The greatly-subsidized corn industry is a taxpayer-funded support of the bad food system that we have.

[truedelphi]

4. Here in Lake County Calif., forest tract after forest

Tract is torn up for vineyards.

The forests offered habitat for wildlife and rare plant species.

And here's what is troubling - grapes are at a record market low.

But since the County Supervisors look the other way when the lawyer who was paid to survey possible runoff damage due to pesticides submitted a false report, the vineyards continue to be planted.

And the fake report assures one and all that the lake is not having any problems.

One news reporter says that at least 15% of the deer population is at threat. Just from the development of the last everal years.

but deer are realtively prolific and can make up what they lose in numbers. The bobcat, coyote, owl, skink, moles etc don't fare as well.

And since the vineyard owners aren't making any money on their product, I can only surmise that they are getting a lot of money in return from the outright subsidies and the outright tax beneifts! Those two items pay them to rape the land and destroy the lake.

[Kolesar]

16. Gallo winery was getting "marketing subsidies" to help them sell in South America

This was a TV news story, IIRC, it was 60 Minutes. At that time, Gallo was the biggest wine producer in the country.

[biermeister]

5. I find it more than slightly ironic that

Tom Vilsack, the Monsanto shill, is there to "fight for farm interests" but then again there's so much irony these days.

[AtheistCrusader]

6. As long as people like Michelle Bachmann are pulling farm subsidies, it could use some

'reform'.

[TrollBuster9090]

12. and attempting to pull discrimination settlements for black farmers AWAY from them...nt

[obxhead]

7. Rookie teabagger Republicans pose threat to social programs.

The should give it a proper headline.

[jwirr]

8. She is right. We have some climate problems that are going to throw

a lot of farmers out of business in the SE while no one is picking the crops in the SW. We have prices skyrocketing every week and we cannot afford not to help our farmers in areas that still have good weather from failing. Once a farmer fails it is not all that easy to get another person to replace them. One needs to know how to farm in order to be a farmer. You cannot just put an add in the paper "wanted to hire: farmer".

The other things I am worried about are the food subsidy programs that the Agriculture Department runs - food stamps, School lunch and breakfast programs, etc. Yes I know that Vilsak and Monsanto are messing with our foods but we cannot let people starve to death. These are two different issues.

[TrollBuster9090]

13. Here's an idea: how about farm 'subsidies' go in the form of govt. wage assistance to low wage farm

labor, to lower the EXPENSES of farming, rather than raising the profits of farmers so they can afford to farm.

Some forms of farming are labor intensive (like fruit picking, for instance), and farmers claim they can't afford to stay in business.

The govt. response has been to:
1. Turn a blind eye to illegal migrant farm workers from Mexico, who are willing to work for wages that are lower than the farmer is normally willing to pay, and
2. Cash subsidies to increase the farmers' profit margin.


Instead, how about if we:
1. Subsidize the WAGES of the farm laborers, making wages high enough for Americans to do it, and
2. Forgetting the cash subsidies on the farmers' profits. LOWERING THEIR EXPENSES and INCREASING EMPLOYMENT is a WIN WIN SITUATION FOR EVERYBODY.

[MBS]

9. Good for her! n/t

[Spider Jerusalem]

10. If subsidising ethanol is part of it? Good, quite frankly

it's just stupid to continue subsidising farmers to turn food crops into fuel when there are food shortages in part BECAUSE of food crops being used for fuel; that's one subsidy that needs to go away.

[TrollBuster9090]

14. You should be specific and call for a stop to STARCH ethanol subsidies.

Research into converting CELLULOSE into ethanol (the parts of the plant normally thrown away...the corn STALK for instance) wouldn't compete with the food industry.

Having said that, however, I think even cellulose ethanol is ridiculous. It's much more expensive to create than other biofuels, and leaves a bigger carbon footprint than OIL!

How about a large scale project to harness wind and GEOTHERMAL energy (my personal favorite), making electricity on the continent ridiculously cheap. Then convert almost all cars (especially in urban settings) to electricity, and then concentrate on methanol and other biofuels. A great place to start to look for methanol biodeisel is in SEWAGE TREATMENT facilities. Instead of spending money to de-contaminate human and animal sewage, how about spending money to CONVERT IT into METHANOL for use in biodeisel. (This is done by methanogenic bacteria, by the way.)

[TrollBuster9090]

11. Good message, (ridiculously) bad messaging, as usual.

Democrats would do well to remind farmers that they RELY on government, taxpayer-funded subsidies for their livelihood. Democrats would NOT do well to remind them 150 people at a time. 150 people is a good start. Only 1999850 of the 2 000 000 farmers left to go.

We've got to stop this unspoken agreement where both parties agree to mollycoddle millionaire farmers, but Democrats politely agree not to remind them that farm subsidies are GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE, and allow Republicans to take credit for being their rugged individualist, anti-government brothers in arms.

As a country we have to decide whether we're going to subsidize farming, and keep the price of food artificially low or not. But either way, farmers need to be REMINDED that they are dependent on government. At this moment in history, the biggest barrier to good government is the lie that government is never helpful, that it's always bad, and that it's always THE OTHER GUY who's exploiting it. For better or for worse, farmers need to be reminded that they receive "government handouts." Even the BANKERS and AUTOMAKERS didn't receive hand outs that they didn't have to pay back. They were either given loans or underwrittend debt releif. But you never saw GM getting CASH HAND OUTS if they weren't able to make enough profits on the cars they were selling to stay in business!

It's one of my utopian dreams to some day have a farmer be reminded that he's received over a million dollars in taxpayer handouts, and have him DEFEND the country and its wise, great society social contract, instead of making some dumbass, cognitive dissonance asinine statement about "my own tax money comin' back to me..." like THIS asshat.

http://www.mediaite.com/online/mainstream-media-quiet-on-missouri-farmer-who-called-democrats-parasites/

[placton]

15. Debbie loves big biz

and always votes their way (most recently, for them on the so called deficit bill) - yeah, she votes progressive on just enough issues (I.e. women's rights) to allow her cover - I won't vote for her again.