Horse Race

I am following the Farm Bill like a Derby horserace (where are the julips?). It's neck and neck but I really do think there is enough momentum being pushed for reform.

Here is where the breaking action can be followed: Mulch

This morning Diane Rehm dedicated an hour to the Farm Bill. They had a guy on from the South Plains Cotton Growers Association, which is headquartered in Lubbock. It was nice to finally hear from somebody who doesn't speak with a funny accent.

Too bad he what he said was so misguided. Basically he kept on saying the the Farm Bill is too complex to understand and that those calling for major reform just don't appreciate the nuances. In other words: this is our business, stay out!

People all around the nation are waking to the fact that the Farm Bill affects more than farmers. It affects everyone and it ought to reflect the things that we care about and, above all, it ought to be just.

The Farm Bill is complicated. Very. But here is the bottom line. The way we are subsidizing cotton and a lot of other crops right now is driving small farms to extinction and creating desperate farming conditions abroad.

Complicated or not, as it stands the way we subsidize farming is not working. For that alone we ought to try a new way of doing things.