The Washington Outsider

The 2018 Farm Bill: A Missed Opportunity To Transform The Food Economy

12/14/2018

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​The 2018 Farm Bill will cost US taxpayers around $867 over the next ten years.  The amount sounds astronomical, but the Farm Bill is not just another spending bill.  It is a major piece of legislation with an oversized impact.  In many respects, the 2018 reauthorization for the Great Depression-era legislation is essentially a continuation of the status quo.  There is, of course, a great deal of buzz surrounding provisions that legalize the production of hemp containing less than 0.3% THC.  It is a long overdue change to an unnecessarily broad attempt to regulate controlled substances.  The Farm Bill also includes funding for various public works projects.  The mainstay of the 2018 Farm Bill, however, continues to be subsidies for farmers and food subsidies for poor Americans.  The fact that few Republican-proposed reforms made it into the final bill is a major victory for those who rely on these subsidies, but the five-year reauthorization of the Farm Bill is yet another missed opportunity to address major economic issues.
Approximately 80% of the funds allocated by the Farm Bill go to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.  SNAP, commonly known as Food Stamps, provides low-income families with funds they can use to purchase groceries.  Although SNAP beneficiaries who work already qualify for greater benefits than those who do not, Republicans wanted to create a work requirement for SNAP recipients.  While many SNAP beneficiaries already do work, the change would have limited access to Food Stamps.  It would have resulted in more than a million adults losing their SNAP benefits while increasing the cost of the program without creating new opportunities for recipients.  The idea behind the work requirement was to encourage recipients to find jobs.  This would, in turn, allow them to increase their incomes as they progressed in their careers, thus eliminating the need for Food Stamps, or at least goes the Republican theory.  Participation rates in SNAP have been dropping as the economy has been improving, just as they rose as the economy weakened.  These changes are, however, the consequences, not causes, of the economic conditions that make the poor dependent on subsidies.
 
Perpetual dependence on social welfare programs is a personal hardship and tragedy for those who survive in a modern world on the generosity of taxpayers.  Not only does their reliance on government handouts and lack of participation in the economy tax the economy, the public welfare system sustains the poor in a state of near-destitution.  Instead of capitalizing on their own potential and reaping the personal freedom that comes with financial security, those who rely on public welfare are imprisoned in a perpetual state of personal stagnation.  Whether working or not, any need to make up a prolonged financial deficit with public or private support is unsustainable.  The existence of social welfare programs and charities do not, however, create the need for these things.  Widespread and prolonged need is a symptom of economic dysfunction.  Instead of embracing lessons learned from past reform efforts, including the 1994 reform effort which had the unintended consequence of solidifying the poverty of the poorest and most vulnerable of Americans, retaining effective solutions from the past, such as transportation assistance, and deriving new solutions by actually thinking about the real problem, Republicans have transformed the theme of the 1990’s anti-welfare campaign into a policy.
 
“Get a job” has become the basis for work requirement proposals on a number of social welfare programs, including SNAP benefits.  With the unemployment rate under 4% and a majority of able-bodied adult recipients of programs like SNAP already working, getting a job is not the problem nor the solution.  What the debates over income inequality and minimum wage reveal is that the problem is a lack of sufficient income and a lack of sufficient pay.  Work requirements cannot fix these issues.  An improving economy can help, yet there is no guarantee the poor will see a great enough benefit to overcome their dependence on others.  Although the Right seems to have made a collective decision to turn a blind eye to the obvious problem that needs solved, their superficial approach to welfare reform has more to do with a collective unwillingness to admit they have no interest in solving poverty.  Conservatives may like to promote themselves as the moral Right, but their libertarian-leaning economic theory is purely social Darwinism, complete with the cruelty of survival of the fittest.  Those who have pushed oversimplified, punitive social welfare reforms do not truly want to confront poverty.
 
With that said, the 20% of the Farm Bill that provides farmers with subsidies may well be the most important aspect of the legislation despite the small price tag.  Intended to secure American agriculture and the lifestyle of small farmers, the greatest beneficiaries of these subsidies are actually millionaires and billionaires whose businesses are not dependent on these subsidies.  Not only are these subsidies being abused, they are distorting the food economy.  Heavy corn and rice subsidies, for example, encourage farmers to grow more of these crops at the expense of others.  Where corn is a calorie-dense, yet nutrient-deficit food, rice requires a great deal of water to grow.  Subsidies make corn so profitable that farmers and food manufactures are encouraged to use as much corn as possible in as many products as possible.  The same is true of rice, but rice also highlights another issue.  Certain crops grown best in certain environments.  Rice, for example, should not be grown in drought-prone regions, yet subsidies make it cost-effective to grow crops like rice in drought-prone regions, such as Texas, with the aid of technology.  By discouraging the production of diverse crops, subsidies undermine the resilience of the agricultural industry.  Proper subsidies would favor a diverse array of nutrient-rich vegetables and grains, which are currently considered specialty crops.  This would, in turn, lead to higher quality, healthier food in American markets.
 
Food Stamps help more than 40 million Americans provide for their most essential human needs at around $70 billion a year.  To reduce that number, the root cause of the need must be addressed.  Instead of trying to tie access to the basic need of food to work, Republicans should have taken aim at the wasteful subsidies sustained by the Farm Bill.  Tax breaks and other government-sponsored subsidies can be useful investments for taxpayers.  If subsidies help support and expand a viable industry that will add to our social and economic wellbeing, beyond the cost of the subsidies overtime, they are quality investments.  If subsidies encourage unhealthy business practices and simply lead to long-term dependency, subsidies are likely a very damaging practice.  Depending upon the consequences, a specific subsidy, or the manner in which a subsidy is applied, should either be expanded or killed.  Food Stamps keep people fed, help keep them healthy, and provide children the nutrition they need to develop properly.  One of the only reforms included in the final 2018 Farm Bill was an effort to expand the eligibility of farm subsidies to cousins and other extended family members.  It is a reform only guaranteed to increase the abuse of subsidies.  
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        • Reduce US Imports by Buying American Made Products
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        • Responding to the "Blip"
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        • Are We Losing Our Second Amendment Rights
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      • Should Smoking Be Allowed in Public Places?
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      • Is eighteen too young to vote?
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      • Do Mandatory Seat Belt Laws Violate Individual Rights?
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      • Dealing with the link between video game violence and children's behavior
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      • Public schools should not impose mandatory drug testing on students
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      • Should pharmacists be required to violate their religious beliefs and dispense the "Morning After Pill?"
      • Should school counselors uphold patient privacy or report students who become unstable?
  • For the record
    • Ongoing Issues >
      • Red Dawn in Ukraine: Understanding the Actions of Russia >
        • On Russia’s Coercion of Ukraine
        • The Russian Annexation of Crimea in the Eyes of the World
        • Putin Has Overplayed His Hand With Crimea
        • Ukraine in Terms of Resovereignization
        • Avoiding a Conflict Between America and Russia Over Ukraine
        • What Drives the World’s Interest in Russia’s Actions in Ukraine
      • China’s Aggressive Pursuit of Interests Demands a Global Response
      • Iran Makes a Deal: A Start to a Long-term Diplomatic Effort to Denuclearize Iran >
        • On the Future of a Nuclear Negotiations with Iran
      • America's Sphere of Influence: Retaking South-East Asia >
        • Power in Asia: Looking at the Power Shift in Japan
        • The China Paradox: Why America is Worried About China
      • Assessing US Support of Israel >
        • Tread Softly Israel for a Heavy Step May Be Your Undoing
      • Understanding the Dysfunctional Nature of the US-Pakistani Relationship
      • Recognizing the True Threat Behind the Current Unrest in the Middle East >
        • Reacting to the Escalating Crackdown in Syria
      • Assessing the Threat of North Korea >
        • Answering North Korea's Call for Food Aid: Breaking the Vicious Cycle Forced Upon Us by a Warring Nation
        • Dealing with the Restarting of the Korean War
        • North Korea Attacks South Korea
      • Dealing with the Ill-effects of Climate Change
      • Racial Inequality and Oppression Do Truly Exist in Today's Society
      • Should energy independence be a high priority in the US?
      • An overview of world wide Human Rights violations
      • Nuclear Threat from Pakistan
      • Return of The Cold War?
    • World >
      • Coverage of FIFA World Cup is a Chance to Focus on Poverty >
        • The FIFA World Cup Offers Benefits for More Than Brazilian Soccer Fans
        • FIFA Can Bring Brazilians Together as a Nation
      • Being Prepared for Any Potential Dangers at the FIFA World Cup Games
      • Treading Softly on the Politicizing of the 2014 Sochi Olympics Over Gay Rights
      • Why NATO Operations in Libya Lack a Well-defined Mission
      • China Hijacks the Web
      • Lessons from the Great Japanese Earthquake of 2011
      • A Modernizing Cuba Offers an Opportunity for Capitalists
      • The Seeds of Democracy Take Root in the Middle East
      • The Rebirth of Democracy in Tunisia
      • What May Come from the Hurt Revolution in Libya
      • Responding to the Violence of Qaddafi and Other Besieged Leaders
      • Embracing the Rise of a Democratic Egypt
      • Protests in Afghanistan Turn Deadly for Coalition Forces and UN Personnel
      • Haiti: Another Failing Humanitarian Investment
      • What Karzai Can Learn from Calderon
      • START II: A Necessary, Easy Success that Nearly Failed
      • Why Does the U.S. Government Support Independence for the Breakaway Serb Territory of Kosovo but Oppose Independence for the Breakaway Georgian Territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia?
      • Iraq's Electric Issues: When Human Wants Trump Economic Sense
      • The International Community Reacts to Wikileaks: We May Be Moving Toward a Third World War in Cyberspace
      • On Climate Gate
      • Assessing Obama's Afghanistan War strategy
      • 2009 Iranian Presidential Election: The Fallout
      • Resolving Sri Lankan Conflict through Free Media
      • What are the Global Consequences of Russia's Invasion of Georgia
      • The War in Iraq: an assessment of President Bush's surge strategy
      • Drug War: Actions of Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador in terms of Resovereignization
      • Is the Iraq Refugee Crisis America's Responsibility?
      • US support for a united Kosovo, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia: why?
      • Should the US withdraw from Iraq?
      • Setting a Timetable for Troop Withdrawal from Iraq is a Terrible Mistake
      • War on Terrorism is needed
    • Law and Order >
      • Rape in the US Military
      • Ethics of Force-feeding Guantanamo Bay Detainees
      • Reacting to the Aftermath of the Tucson Massacre
    • Economy >
      • Affordability Drives Fear of Obamacare and the Individual Mandate
      • Is the Economy Built for a Job's Recovery?
      • Gutting Healthcare Reform of the Individual Mandate
      • Arizona Budget Cuts Lead to Lethal Healthcare Rationing:
      • Shameful Collection Practices of American Banks
      • The Fed Reveals it Actually Undertook an International Bailout
      • Thoughts on French Budgetary Reforms
      • Seniors Start Businesses
      • The Case for Slimming Down the US Military to Make it Better
      • Looking at the Obama Administration's New Approach to Economic Policy
      • Should the Government Regulate the Credit Card Industry?
      • The Big Three's Big Chance
      • The Unhealthy Tone of the Healthcare Reform Debate
      • Should the federal government offer a bailout for home owners?
      • Environmentalists: Do They Do More Good Than More Harm?
      • Responding to Scott Walker's Contribution to the War on Unions
    • US Government >
      • America Needs to Focus on the Impending Fiscal Crisis
      • Reacting to the Bush Era-tax Cut Extension Deal
      • Quitting the Obama Revolution: The Fickle Nature of American Politics
      • John Boehner's Circus
      • Is the Fed Putting Itself in Jeopardy?
      • Wikileaks Goes After the US State Department
      • Discussing the Political Environment Surrounding the 2011 Budget Debate
      • What the Democrats Can Do to Ensure a GOP Year in 2012
      • What the 2010 Midterm Actually Said
      • Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper
      • Democrats Minus Nancy Pelosi Equals Opportunity
      • Terrorists Go Postal: The Terrorism Threat Reexamined
      • Victory in the 2008 Election: Reaction to Barack Obama'a Win >
        • Expectations for Barack Obama
      • President Obama's first one hundred days
      • John McCain's Negative Campaign
      • Reasons People did not Elect John Mccain
      • History judges the George W. Bush Administration
      • Should the next US President focus on domestic issues?
      • President Bush, should he resign or be impeached
      • Should the Ban on Government Sponsored Assassinations be Repealed
    • Off Topic >
      • A Face of America’s Greatest Generation
      • A Story About a Man Who Made the World a Better Place
      • Making the World a Better Place
      • The Bipolar Ethical Nature of Google
      • Learning Computer Plays Jeopardy
      • Verifying Medicine is the Real Thing
      • Taking a Practical Step Forward in Optical Computing Using Slow Light
      • Scientists Take a Closer Look at How Lithium Batteries Work
      • Remarking on the First Blizzard of the 2010-2011 Winter Season
      • Driving in the Snow: Acceleration is the Key
      • How People in Northwest PA Are Coping with the Increasing Cost of Oil
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