George Graham

Millions to Rich “Farmers” while Slashing Aid to the Poor

The U.S. Government Accountability Office reports that about half of the $1.5 billion in farm subsidies distributed last year went to non-farmers.

I’ve read this kind of report before. It is no secret that “farm” subsidies don’t go just to farmers. They also go to millionaires in major cities and tropical retreats – even in faraway lands.

Yet the penny-pinching Republicans who control the House of Representatives won’t consider cutting back on this kind of welfare for the rich. Instead, they want to balance the federal budget on the backs of the poorest Americans – those who qualify for food stamps.

This is just one example of the charade presented by those Tea Party types. They claim to be concerned about America’s national debt but in realty they are targeting the social safety net – and wasting millions in the process.

The government shutdown they precipitated cost the US Government billions, for example. Yet they’re unrepentant, and are threatening to do it again when the current peace pact expires.

They are demanding cuts in Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment Insurance and other programs for the old, the sick and the needy. And they are relentlessly attacking the Affordable Care Act.

“Think tanks” set up by right-wing billionaires to influence public opinion are engaged in lawsuits challenging various parts of the new health care law, and the right-wing “noise machine” is assailing the rollout of the new law with every resource at its disposal.

It’s bitterly ironic that these “fiscal conservatives” don’t mind spending anything it takes to attack the President’s policies, support billions in subsidies to oil companies and are fighting to restore cuts to the defense budget.

It’s class warfare at its most obvious.

What I see going on in America is a revolt by the rich.

They don’t give a damn about America’s debt or America’s future.

They’re in it for the money.

And those insurrectionists in Congress are either political pawns blinded by their prejudices and bitterness or Machiavellian schemers driven by personal ambition.

Surely, American voters will see through their pantomime and send them packing next November.

Click for more on farm subsidies.

 

About the author

gwgraeme

I am a Jamaican-born writer who has lived and worked in Canada and the United States. I live in Lakeland, Florida with my wife, Sandra, our three cats and two dogs. I like to play golf and enjoy our garden, even though it's a lot of work. Since retiring from newspaper reporting I've written a few books. I also write a monthly column for Jamaicans.com