Death of a subsidy?
As welcome evidence that Washington Democrats and Republicans can agree on some form of government austerity, the Senate voted last week to end subsidies to millionaire farmers. The vote was 84-15.
For years, legislation that attempted to rein in the subsidies was dead on arrival in the upper chamber, where farm states have a bigger voice and spots in party leadership. The direct payments have long been made regardless of crop prices and yields. Far from a risk-based insurance program or a safety net, the subsidies are nothing but taxpayer-funded gravy.
Of course, some politics are at play here. Congress will take up a new farm bill next year, and this gesture was made with the hope that the budget-cutting supercommittee might spare future subsidies for farmers who aren’t millionaires.
Our advice to the supercommittee: Cut all the fat from this pig.