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Editor’s Note: The discussion topic for this week: Do you think the proposal to reduce subsidy payments to wealthy farmers being pushed in Congress is needed? And if so, does it go far enough?

Should subsidies to wealthy farmers be reduced?

How about re-phrasing your question to read, “Should subsidies to wealthy farmers ever have begun in the first place?” The subsidies did little or nothing to help the small farmers, who supposedly, were the reason Congress got it past the Public in the first place.

Our benevolent father figures in Washington didn’t appear to care for the small farmers, passing bills that benefited the rich farmers. As the small farmers continued to fail, the rich ones bought up the small farms at bargain prices, then reaped the rewards of the subsidies.

Back to the original question, yes, reduce the subsidies, but reduce it to nothing for those farmers making $100,000.00 or more. $ l00K doesn’t go as far as it used to, but it’s a start. Now everyone knows that this is a ridiculous statement. What Politico has guts enough to buck big money? Not a prayer.

Don Hopper
Flint

Why are farmers getting subsidies to plant tobacco? As far as I remember, corn pays no subsidy and causes no cancer. And please spare this former smoker/snuff eater any preachments on freedom to use harmful substances.

To begin, ethanol is almost as big a scam as manmade global warming. Companies such as Archer Daniels Midland are harvesting money from the government with the ethanol boondoggle without ever planting a single seed or cranking the first tractor.

Too much of our corn production is going to ethanol when ethanol can be produced from grass or cane better and cheaper. Check out Brazil and Argentina. And guess what, people don’t usually eat grass or cane, so no unintended starvation. I see in Haiti where mud cookies are selling like, well, like hotcakes because of the corn shortage.

Now to the “rich” farmers. Big corn or grain farmers spend $250K for a combine and over $150K for a tractor, not to mention planters, harrows, grain drills, etc. Farm diesel fuel is around $3.70 a gallon. Farm chemicals like fertilizer and pesticides rely heavily on oil for production. So much so, that using these oil resources to produce corn to make ethanol to save gasoline seems kinda dumb.

Having been a farmer, custom harvester, and crop duster in the first half of the ‘70s I can promise agriculture is not like finding money in the road. Farming is no easier in 2008 and farmers can’t be blamed for wanting a return on their time and money. The coming food shortage can be traced to the environmentalists and liberals, not the “rich farmers.”

Subsidies have never been enough to make a living and were never meant to be a substitute for raising food. They were more of a set-aside. Anyway, unplanted land is fallow land for next season’s crop. Just like the good Lord intended, I believe.

R.W. Moore
Tyler

Well, la de da. Our efficiently run government proposing cutting 10% off the subsidy to farmers who make over $950,000 per year.

This on top of a proposed 2% cut in direct payments to farmers with incomes above that level. Assuming this is a big deal a lot of farmers are stiffing the American consumers by way of government subsidies.

This subsidy business was started under Franklin Delano Roosevelt that great socialist, and friend to fascist Benito Mussolini. This same Roosevelt instituted farm subsidy programs to save the family farm and in the year I was born he confiscated all gold owned by Americans, totally unconstitutional.

In addition he devalued it from $27/oz to $35/oz so it took more dollars to buy an oz but no one could actually own it, wow what a guy — a hero to many who do not know anything but lies and propaganda about this guy who wrecked the constitution and our financial system along with Woodrow Wilson who instituted the Fed. Res. Farmers should stand as a business just like any other business.

Why are they singled out as unique while all other business owners have to sink or swim? The hypocrites. They pass laws such as Sarbanes/Oxley that cost businesses thousands of dollars to comply with and with stiff penalties while their bookkeeping system is a train wreck of lies.

There was never a budget surplus under Clinton. The national debt went up every year he was in office and more so under Bush II. Nine trillion we owe but that is just what is on the books. Much of the budget is off budget. They won’t even tell us a ballpark figure for the cost of the CIA. Stop the subsidies completely — they are costing consumers.

They subsidize the sugar growers and place huge tariffs on imported sugar, keeping the price of sugar high. They subsidize corn growers but corn syrup is cheaper than sugar for manufacturing so they turn to corn syrup for ice cream, candy, etc. Guess what, all goods made with sugar taste better than those sweetened with corn syrup but we suffer with buying inferior tasting food while paying more anyway. Hurray to the government.

They should all be sent home. They do not represent us, they only represent those who paid them off, Oh yes, talk is about suspending the gas tax (tariff) of 18 cents/gal. How generous if you fill up once a week and use 20 gal you have saved 14.40/month, hardly enough to take the family to McDonald’s.

Jack O. Ludwick
Tyler

Thank you for giving the public a chance to air our views on “Should subsidies to wealthy farmers be reduced?” Not only reduced but cut completely out. I for one am very angry about this program with so many people in our country U.S.A. that are nearly on starvation.

I think the proposal to reduce subsidy payments has been the most ridiculous, asinine, proposal, law this country has ever proposed or even thought of.

I’m 83 1/2 years old and due to Notch proposal I receive $495.00 less a month Social Security than I should and I paid into Social Security since 1942. Why don’t our Congressmen do something to help the needy?

I’ve always thought these subsidy payments are to our sick Congressmen, who are overpaid to begin with for what they do, take long vacations after giving themselves another raise. Sorry this letter is messy but I have rheumatism, arthritis, fibromyalgia, to name a few.

Juanita C. Martin
Arp