Furrowed brows over farm subsidies
Re “Senate passes bill that keeps subsidies for wealthy farmers,” Dec. 15
Between the Democrats’ support for billions in subsidies to wealthy farming corporations and the Republicans’ support for the $13 billion in tax relief for the obscenely wealthy oil companies, it’s fairly clear that our representatives gave up representing the people a while back.
Add in the bipartisan push to protect the telecommunications companies from any liability for their part in spying on all Americans post-9/11, and it becomes painfully obvious that the only way to get our representatives to represent us is term limits -- two terms and you’re out.
David Higgins
Los Angeles
Taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to subsidize farmers or anyone else. The idea that one person’s needs are a moral claim on the assets of others has been used to justify countless redistribution schemes, from farm subsidies to welfare handouts to foreign aid.
But this idea is unjust. Individuals have a moral right to what they earn -- not to what others earn.
The government should protect our property from those who would steal it -- not steal it from us and give it to those who did not earn it.
David Holcberg
Irvine
The writer is a media specialist at the Ayn Rand Institute.
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