Increased farm subsidies have made strange bedfellows of environmentalists and the Bush Administration. They agree that that the big federal money goes to big agri-business, at the expense of the little guys, not what subsidies were designed to do. Even the Wall Street Journal calls the Farm Bill a "millionaire safety net" which raises taxes to pay off the rich. What does it mean for the environment? What are the prospects of another "bubble" with results like those for dot-coms and housing?
Income and Federal Subsidies Up for US Farmers
Credits
Guests:
- Catharine Richert - Agricultural Reporter, Congressional Quarterly
- Sandra Schubert - Director of Government Affairs, Environmental Working Group
- Mary Kay Thatcher - American Farm Bureau Federation
- Brad Lubben - Assistant Professor of Agricultural Economics, University of Nebraska at Lincoln