From: matus [matus@snet.net] Sent: Wednesday, June 19, 2002 12:31 AM To: matus@snet.net Subject: MFD List - Agricultural Subsidies (All, this is an article summarizing the recent farm aid pill that passed through Washington. It has an obvious bias against the aid, but it is a good source of information for what was contained in the package and to what extent. People concerned with global poverty and the well being of all people on the planet should take note that subsidies, quotas and tariffs are a form of protectionism. They isolate US markets against cheap imports and isolate developing countries against exporting cheaply. Many third world countries have farming as their own revenue generating system, and when western nations subsidies domestic crops, they flood the market with tax payer funded food that can be sold is cheaper than if the food was produced in a 3rd world country. Without this aid, many US exported goods would be more expensive and would not be able to compete in a global market. The justification for these actions is usually in the form of protecting American jobs, but humanists and compassionate people should be concerned with all the world people and their jobs, not just people in the United States. The agriculture subsidies in post-industrialized west nations (e.g. the US, Britain, Sweden, Australia) have a combined annually subsidization program that exceeds the Gross National Product of the bottom half of the world nations, and this is just subsidies. These trade barriers and forms of isolationism are argued to prevent economic growth in poor nations, perpetuate economic imbalances between rich and poor nations, and stall the increase in the global standard of living. - Mike) 1. Green Acres As spring heads into summer many suburbanites and city dwellers will head for the country. While out in the sticks, they might want to visit their money. The massive farm bill that Washington has brazenly fattened up for this election year represents an amazing 70 percent increase in farm subsidies and completely repeals the modest steps at reigning in farmer welfare payments taken by the Freedom to Farm Act of 1996. Farm states will see some $180 billion flow their way in the next 10 years under support programs for corn, wheat, oats, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, peanuts, honey, wool, sugar, mohair, and sorghum. A new subsidy program for dairy farmers will continue to keep milk prices artificially high, costing consumers billions more. Ethanol subsidies buried in new energy legislation add another $100 billion or so to this bipartisan effort to buy votes from the farm states. Both parties think the key to control of the Senate lies in America's shameless, perpetually needy heartland. So make the most of your bucolic getaway. Stride boldly onto the porch of the first farmhouse you see, rap smartly, and demand a glass of lemonade. Tell the owners you'll be staying a couple days and you prefer big breakfasts. You've paid for them--and will keep paying. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25339-2002May3.html Highlights of New Farm Bill Latest news and updates Select an Industry Biotechnology Defense Energy Financial Services Food Hospitality Insurance Internet Legal Media Pharmaceuticals Retail Telecommunications Transportation The Associated Press Friday, May 3, 2002; 2:39 AM Highlights of the new farm bill: Cost: -$180 billion over 10 years, a 70 percent increase over the cost of continuing existing programs. Farm Subsidies: -Raises price guarantees, known as loan rates, for corn, wheat, oats, barley and sorghum. Continues fixed annual payments to grain and cotton farms. Creates new target price system, similar to one abolished in 1996, to provide supplemental payments with income of those farms falls below certain levels. Allows farmers to update planting records that are used in calculating certain payments. -Farmers could continue to receive subsidies under the loan program in unlimited amounts. Fixed payments and subsidies under the target-price system would be capped at $210,000 annually. -Establishes new subsidies for dairy farmers as well as producers of lentils, chickpeas, peanuts, honey, wool and mohair. The dairy subsidies are limited to production equivalent of about 135 cows. Continues price support system for sugar using controls on imports. -Ends a quota system that props up peanut prices. As compensation, farmers and others who own quotas will receive 11 cents a pound annually for five years. Conservation: -Establishes the Conservation Security Program, at a cost of $2 billion, to pay crop farmers for improved environmental practices. -The Conservation Reserve Program, which pays farmers to idle environmentally sensitive land, would be expanded from its current limit of 36.4 million acres to 39.2 million acres. -The Farmland Protection Program, which pays farmers near urban areas to keep their land in production, would expand by nearly $1 billion over the decade, a nearly 20-fold increase. -The Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which subsidizes manure cleanup and other improvements, would be quadrupled at a cost of $9 billion over 10 years. A single farm or feedlot could receive as much as $450,000. Food Labeling: -Meat, fish, peanuts and produce would have to be labeled with their country of origin, starting in the fall of 2004. -Bans catfish imported from Vietnam from being labeled as catfish. Food Stamps: -Noncitizens who have lived in the country for at least five years would become eligible for food stamps. -Allows low-income families getting off welfare to receive food stamps for an additional five months. Bioenergy: -Provides $405 million to encourage development and use of fuels made from crops. Rural Development -$1 billion in new spending for rural development, including $360 million for water and sewage assistance, and $240 million for assisting farmer-owned businesses. Trade: -$1.1 billion for trade assistance, including $650 million for overseas promotion of U.S. food and beverages. www.matus1976.com - Article archives