Subsidies benefit only farmers and ranchers

Re “How to keep ‘em down on the farm,” Opinion, Aug. 3

Jonah Goldberg is right in his description of the Welfare Kings who claim to be farmers, live in our major cities and collect payments from the federal government while not growing anything. Others grow crops that make economic sense only because of the subsidies. Also subsidized in the West is the water used to grow crops.

The Welfare Kings are demanding a 44% increase over the next 25 years in the amount of water they want to take from the Central Valley Project at highly subsidized rates. Ecosystems are crashing all across the state because so much water has already been diverted. The Welfare Kings won’t grow much other than the size of their wallets by selling this water to cities for many times what they paid for it.

DOROTHY GREEN

California Water Impact Network

Los Angeles

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Those who read journalist Michael Pollan and others on sustainable farming know that more calories are expended in producing corn than are contained in corn, and the culprit is government subsidies. The resulting excess supply of corn has to be dealt with, so it ends up in fast-food sweeteners and bio fuels that are not viable without subsidies.

An ad for Archer Daniels Midland shows an Iowa farm that grows corn and nothing else because almost all livestock is now raised on “factory farms” that don’t have a blade of grass anywhere. Goldberg’s column will give more people an opportunity to get the message.

RODGER WINN

Tustin

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Dare one hope for Goldberg to also take on rich Western ranchers who happily accept subsidies of grazing rights on federal lands? No objection here, in this largely Republican constituency, to the fact that such leases are not part of the competitive market system.

SIEGFRIED OTHMER

Woodland Hills