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Thursday, July 10, 2008

Guest View: Myths About Farm Bill Dispelled

By Margarita Mercure Hibbs

      Recently, I was confronted by a woman who is not particularly wealthy and professes to be a Christian, who stated to me, “There is absolutely no reason to give special assistance to poor people, and by the way, why are you picking on McCain?!” Her statement was in response to my previous guest editorial in the Telegraph: “Hey McCain, Farm Bill is Vital.”
    Frankly, I was shocked to see the depth of her antipathy toward poor people, from the context of my article; we are primarily talking about school-age children and senior citizens. She also claimed that she was sick of the welfare abuse in this country.
    Initially, I was taken aback. First, let me deal with the welfare comment. Welfare programs throughout the nation comprise only 3 percent to 4 percent of the entire national budget. Granted, we all hate fraud and abuse of any government program, but what are we supposed to do with poor people in this country? Do we allow them to be homeless and starve? Oh, that's right, sometimes we do.
    The woman who expressed anger at my first editorial has the freedom to pass judgment on the parents of the low-income children, but really, she is passing judgment on a great percentage of New Mexican families who are living at or below the Federal Poverty Level of $20,444 for a family of four. A good Republican friend said to me, “Margarita, as a person who received free or reduced meals in elementary school, I vehemently believe that these programs are vital to young people. Without adequate nutrition, a child cannot possibly be expected to learn. Without learning, that child cannot be expected to pull himself from the grips of the poverty cycle. Denying the merits of the Farm Bill directly leads to a continuation of the poverty cycle.”
    The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, which is based in Minnesota, has provided the following myths and realities for discussion:
    Myth 1: Rich farmers get all the money from the Farm Bill.
    Reality: Sixty-eight percent of the Farm Bill goes to nutrition programs. Eleven percent goes to farm commodity programs. And 8 percent goes to conservation programs — you know, the soil and water conservation programs throughout our state. From those numbers we can easily calculate 87 percent of the entire Farm Bill Budget goes to seemingly good priorities. So now we are looking at 13 percent of the pork barrel of which McCain and this woman object. Here is the problem with pork barrel: One man's pork is another man's survival.
    Myth 2: Farmers don't need government support. They're getting rich off rising food prices.
    Reality: Farmers receive less than 20 cents of the food dollar. Costs of production have skyrocketed. Since 2002, farm expenses have increased 45 percent. Some of the culprits to this explosion are fuel costs and labor costs.
    Myth 3: Rich farmers benefit the most from the Farm Bill.
    Reality: Big agribusiness companies like Monsanto, Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland are the big winners. They reap the bounty, while family owned farms do the work and take the risk. This might be pork barrel.
    Myth 4: Farm subsidies are the main problem with the Farm Bill.
    Reality: Price deregulation is the problem with the Farm Bill. Instead of targeting subsidies, the Farm Bill should ensure farmers receive a fair price from big agribusiness companies, and consumers are not gouged at the supermarket. Is this pork barrel?
    Myth 5: The Bush administration was the voice of reason to cut subsidies for rich farmers.
    Reality: The Bush administration insisted on keeping a certain type of subsidy that went to farmers, regardless of price, because it was legal under World Trade Organization rules. The principle reason, it wanted to strike a WTO deal for their big business friends before leaving office.
    Myth 6: Farmers benefit from expanded exports.
    Reality: Most farmers don't export. Grain companies like Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland do. These companies make a habit of buying low and selling high and are reaping record profits. The assistance from the Farm Bill to specialty crop farmers who qualify for marketing funds for “Grown in America” or “Grown in New Mexico” is essential in a world concerned with quality, affordable and sustaining food sources and in particular to grossly under priced import competition.
    Myth 7: Agriculture doesn't deserve special treatment from government.
    Reality: Food is different than computers or car parts. It is essential for life and health. Food production has an enormous impact on the land, water and air. Farming is inherently risky, full of unknowns like bad weather, pests, disease and price volatility.
    The sad reality is that if you ask Iowa farmers about their flooded farms or our New Mexico farmers who have suffered from entire crop losses or diminished returns because of severe drought over the last nine to 13 years about Farm Bill pork barrel, I believe that you will get a more compassionate response regarding the importance of the Farm Bill. As for me picking on Sen. McCain, not true. This is not a personal attack on McCain but an observation regarding his words and actions, nothing more. If people agree with him regarding his lack of support of the Farm Bill, well, they can vote for him.
    Hibbs is first lady of Estancia and a leadership specialist for the My Rural America Action Fund, which can be found online at www.myruralamerica.org.
   

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