Farm Bill isn’t for American Farmers, It’s for Food Stamps

Food Stamps somehow became part of the everyday American culture mixed into the Welfare system and ‘The Farm Bill’.  Three separate issues that have created a partnership an unhealthy partnership that was created with the Pilot Food Stamp Program (1961–1964) and somehow continues today without meaningful results.

~ American Welfare system is broken – 1966 (Briar, 1966)

~ American Welfare system is broken – 1994 (Nation’s Business)

45+ years later after Trillions have been spent

~ American welfare system is broke – 2013 (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3033245/posts)

What do you think the Senate & House members do all day?

The Farm Bill that is supposed to be for American Farmers:

Today, only 20% of ‘The Farm bill’ actually goes to American Farms.  Really?  That seems a little odd since the American farmers supply Americans and World with much needed food.

How many farmers are there in the US that could benefit from a Farm Bill?  According to USDA.com, “[I]n the United States in 2012 is estimated at 2.2 million, down 11,630 farms from 2011.”

What happened to 11,630 farms in one year?  Did those farmers need help that could have been in a legitimate ‘Farm Bill’?

Some facts about American Farmers that are supposed to benefit from a ‘Farm Bill’:

¾   2.2 million farms dot America’s rural landscape. About 97 percent of U.S. farms are operated by families – individuals, family partnerships or family corporations.

 ¾   Farm and ranch families comprise just 2 percent of the U.S. population.

 ¾   More than 21 million American workers (15 percent of the total U.S. workforce) produce, process and sell the nation’s food and fiber.

 ¾   Today’s farmers produce 262 percent more food with 2 percent fewer inputs (labor, seeds, feed, fertilizer, etc.), compared with 1950.

 ¾   In 2010, $115 billion worth of American agricultural products were exported around the world. The United States sells more food and fiber to world markets than we import, creating a positive agricultural trade balance.

 …and the list goes on.

One could speculate that if:

¾   Politicians were thinking about votes more than America, the American Farmer loses.

¾   Politicians were thinking about what was best for America, Farmers could have a ‘Farm Bill’

I’m confused as to how the Food Stamp program ended up in a Farm Bill in the first place and still remains there today.  It seems bureaucrats aren’t able to separate the three issues (food stamps, welfare, farm bill) in any discussion.  Dysfunctional leadership in DC in the past and currently continues to contribute to be the failure of the American welfare system.

“For more than 70 years, Congress and most presidents have proposed changes in the child welfare system aimed at improving goals for safety, permanency, and well-being for all children in out-of-home care” (Curtis & Denby, 2011) and somehow managed to carry it over into ‘The Farm Bill’ with no results from either the federal and state governments.

There will always be a need for welfare and food stamps; however, Americans do not need to pay for a dysfunctional system set up by its own government.

The reality is, no child will ever go hungry in America if their parents ask for help.  There are thousands of non-profit food pantries/banks, State and Federal food pantries/banks and Faith- based organizations to supply food to American children and families.  There are exceptions and shortages:

2013 – Local outreaches and food pantries

2012 – Northside food pantry faces severe shortages

A few questions to ask:

Why, according to the Department of Agriculture, did “48 million Americans at the end of 2012 needed help with food”?

Has politician’s greed on both sides kept women and children on food stamp and in continuous poverty?

For some reason, after spending trillions of taxpayers’ dollars on Welfare programs, Americans still have no solutions.

The multi-billion dollar insurance industry is also having a major impact on the Food Stamp program.

How much longer does the Insurance industry take the financial hit for obesity related diseases?  Regulating food stamps is to regulate what people eat.  Profits for the insurance companies are a major part of the financial stability of America.  Politicians on both sides are always in need of financial help for their campaigns and the food stamp program may become the healthiest controlled program in the world.

Meanwhile, despite reports that people in America are starving, obesity issues are increasingly prevalent.  “For the first time in human history, the number of overweight people rivals the number of underweight people…While the world’s underfed population has declined slightly since 1980 to 1.1 billion, the number of overweight people has surged to 1.1 billion.”

The food stamp program needs to be in a separate bill or act.  Lobbyists and/or special interest groups shouldn’t be able to ‘wheel and deal’ with Politicians to create solutions—meaning no favors should be given with this ‘American Food Stamp Bill’.  As is, no one really understands just how big the Welfare State has become or where all our tax money goes.

Additional Information:

Louie Gohmert Unplugged: ‘This Was Not a Farm Bill, 80% Was About Food Stamps’