Farm Subsidies for Land Owners
* Re “Urban ‘Farmers’ Reap Rich Harvest of Crop Subsidies,” March 16:
What an eye-opener this article is! Although it is widely known that farmers receive subsidies, the absentee landlord came as a surprise. As a taxpayer, I’d like to think that subsidies are keeping the small family farms going.
But, no. Instead, the actual “farmers” are eking out a living raising the crops in a kind of feudal landlord/serf arrangement. This is another example of entitlements gone astray and for over 60 years.
It sounds as if Sen. Richard Lugar, a Republican from a farm state and an announced candidate for President, is taking the bull by the horns when he says taxpayers should not be subsidizing farmers, while small businesses with a failure rate of 50% go unaided. This won’t be popular. Entitlement cuts never are. Witness Social Security and Medicare.
Thanks to writers John Broder and Dwight Morris for a well-researched article full of facts such as that for the first time in American history, more than half of the agricultural land is being tilled by those who do not own it. And this is capitalism?
MARY MEYER
Pasadena
* The Times had two articles about “corporate subsidies.” In one story broadcasters were complaining that their federal subsidies might be cut or eliminated. In the other, farmers were complaining about the same thing. Both groups claim that “national interest” is at stake.
I own and operate a lumberyard that supplies lumber to build shelter for our citizens. Using the logic of the farmers and broadcasters, I too should have a federal subsidy. But I do not and and they should not either. The time has come to get both groups off the public dole. When it is all done, both groups will feel as good as former welfare recipients do when they get real jobs.
PETER GANAHL
Anaheim
* The issue of subsidy payments for land not farmed was reported. What that really means is the owners of certain farmlands are paid not to farm that land. It began, and to some extent remains, a program to control food prices.
At a time when welfare payments are being viewed as expendable, the owners of those farmlands continue to receive their welfare checks, checks given to them for not working (farming) the land. This isn’t just land that fell into the price-support program, it is land purchased, in may cases, just to get the welfare check of thousands (millions?) of dollars! And, these people (many of whom are in Congress) have exploited this form of welfare for years while talking about cutting school lunches, inoculation programs for children, etc.
It is becoming increasingly hard to separate the wheat from the chaff even at high levels of government.
T.T. FORTIER
Los Angeles