Arizona Attorney Lawyer

USA agricultural policy is a subject boring. Expensive - as more and more - but still boring. The only people who are at least interesting are those whose livelihood depends directly - farm state politicians, bureaucrats from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and farmers - especially those with large farms.

Who benefits?

The rest of the country, if it disrupts the debate on agricultural policy and the estimated $ 35 billion in corporate welfare, the federal government for farmers this year [1], probably agree with HL Mencken . Writing in 1924, when the agricultural labour force still more than 25 percent of the country’s workforce, Mencken made the following observation:

Let the farmer, as far as I am concerned, condemned forevermore. To hell with him, and worse for him. It is laborious fraud and ignorant, an inexpensive and unseriöse hypocrites, man eternal Jack packaging. He deserves everything he still suffers from our economic system, and much more. Each city man, not crazy, scales, tears for him east of the separation of crocodile tears.

No longer the appeal, selfish and dishonest mammal, yes, it is known that pupils and students Anthropoidea. If Going is good for him, he removes the rest of us to the extreme limit of our endurance, if the course is bad, it comes in Braille to help the population. Has anyone ever heard a farmer for any victim of its own interests, but slight, that the common good? Each time, a farmer or to practice the policy of each idea was that research are not necessarily themselves - it was not, indeed, aware of the prey the rest of us for its own benefit? [2]

Some 60 years later, Mencken’s comments have not lost their relevance. There are fewer farmers, but together they are rich, it continues to produce more food than the nation can consume, and they continue to find ever more innovative opportunities to force consumers to pay more for food, as a volunteer, she pays.

Farmers have always politically powerful the USA. They succeeded, their political power despite great changes in agriculture. For a large constituency found that his public appearance in the populist revolt of the late 19th century, agriculture has been the time to a standard of the immensity of agricultural cooperatives, farm population of less than 5 percent of all the USA and “family” establishments capital-intensive, and often the size of farms from previous generations.

Because of the political force of farmers, the Reagan administration agricultural policy is regarded as one is not better, he came forward. From the presidency of Calvin Coolidge in Mencken’s time that Jimmy Carter, nothing improved. In one sense of this case is much worse: Reagan came to power conference of donors to restore a free market in agriculture, but less than three years later, his Secretary of Agriculture John Block, was efficiently organized, co agricultural interests and bureaucracy of the Department of Agriculture. Now the block to the presidency of price support cost more than $ 21 billion this year. These programs cost only $ 3.5 billion during the last year of the Carter administration. [3] Block Secretary-General would be denied that this situation, everything is his fault, in all fairness, Congress made a great deal of responsibility.

There is no doubt that in a clearly visible area of agricultural policy, where a president can direct action (without the consent of Congress) to restore the conditions of the free market, block, as the head of the USDA, has always (and often successfully) against free market solutions proposed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The specific area of marketing of agricultural products orders. By its actions, has effectively block Congress allies and adversaries that it is not serious of the free market economy, the rhetoric he uses from time to time. Agricultural Marketing orders are the federal government, most flagrant interference in the free market in agriculture. But Congress and the entire country, block and the Reagan administration for the economy and politics as usual.