Insurance Lobby FTW!

[SquidInk]

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/l ... 6969.story

In its latest move to provide relief to drought-stricken farmers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Monday that it would buy up to 0 million of meat from affected livestock producers.

The prolonged Midwest drought has driven up feed costs for livestock farmers in affected areas, and the purchase of pork, lamb, chicken and catfish will provide some relief, the USDA said in a statement.

The purchases will assist "producers who are currently struggling due to the challenging market conditions and the high cost of feed resulting from the widespread drought," Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsak said in a statement.

The move will allow the department to purchase of up to 0 million in pork products; million in catfish; million in chicken; and million in lamb products.

The meat will go toward several of the USDA's federal food nutrition assistant programs, such as the National School Lunch Program and the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations.

The announcement follows previous moves by the USDA that have allowed drought-affected farmers to secure low-interest emergency loans in an expedited time frame.

The drought affecting the country's midsection has ruined half the nation's corn crop and pushed corn futures to record levels. The drought, the worst in more than two decades, is expected to drive up food costs for consumers.

Farmers have been lobbying Congress to pass a 2012 Farm Bill, which is currently working its way through the House of Representatives. The current farm bill is set to expire in a few weeks and farmers want a security net in place before planning for next year.

Related: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/busines ... 82438.html

[SquidInk]

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/20 ... nt-page-2/

(CNN) - While Congress faces escalating pressure to avoid the fiscal cliff, a key Cabinet member is issuing dire warnings for the economy if Washington fails to immediately act on other vital legislation waiting in the wings.

"It is unconscionable that we don't have a farm bill," U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said in an interview that aired Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." "This is just historic."

The five-year farm bill, which aids farmers with price protections and subsidies, expired on September 30 after the House faced GOP division over extending the bill. Some conservative lawmakers said the newer version didn't go far enough in reform, while others said the price tag was too high, especially in provisions dealing with food stamps.

House Speaker John Boehner said in September that the chamber would readdress the issue after the election.

The recent expiration doesn't affect existing federal support for the remainder of 2012, but Vilsack cautioned that Americans could see stark changes come 2013.

How did we end up with a generation of farmers who think they are entitled to government handouts? These kinds of shakedowns - complete with threats of $8/gal milk are quite disgusting.

Here's my concept: if you run a business you need to make an honest profit, evolve your product/service until it is honestly profitable, or close up shop. If what passes for milk theses days has a true cost of around $8/gal, then sell it at that price or make something else. In any case, stand on your own, relatively speaking.

Here's big business' concept: create absurd product (in this case pasteurized cow milk), with little or no utility & which nobody actually needs or demands. [1][2]
Then create psy-op 'marketing' plan in order to 'develop' (read:create) a market & to convince people they actually need the useless product. Next obscure the fact that such a product may, in many ways, actually be harmful to taxpayers - due in no small part to the requirements of large scale production. Then get taxpayers to heavily subsidize those same debased production methods, as well as extremely inefficient distribution schemes. This is the model from cigarettes to iPhones to ice cream.

Must be nice.

The Vilsack interjection here is extra hilarious. He, of course, proceeded through the 'revolving door' from the upper echelon of Monsanto to become an agent on the inside, so to speak. His secret board room designed mission is, no doubt, to keep the taxpayer cash cow harnessed up, & producing. I bet the Tea Party is furious.

[1] [2]

[Diogenes]

Squid,

I have wondered for years about this.

That is correct - if Milk is 8.00 a gallon to produce then so be it and the rest of us will decide how much we want to drink milk.

Completely off topic but has anyone had the Cream Top milk from Trader Joes? Now that tastes like the milk I drank in the 50's.

[SquidInk]

After re-reading the article, it seems the $8/gal figure comes from some kind of subsidies formula from 1949, and does not reflect the actual cost of production in 2012. But our question still stands, Diogenes. Healthy companies and industries do not need government subsidies, allowing a few exceptions. This is a way for disgusting politicians to 'bring home the bacon'.

I remember the dairy farmers in my home county all took subsidies in the 1980s - it was very good money. The program required them to sell their dairy cattle. They did, again at good prices, and then they promptly switched to goat based dairy production in the very same facilities! The restriction was only on cattle based dairy production. I still prefer goat cheese to this day, and they are now all very wealthy.

Something tells me the California Dairymans' Association had a hand in all of it.

[Doka]

He who controls the food,water and etc. is certainly in control of the worlds population. I keep wondering what is going to happen to that farm bill and wonder if they will the keep the Monsanto Free Card attached to it. But then again I probably already know the answer.