http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/08/23/159806895/why-do-taxpayers-subsidize-farmers-insurance
Three generations of the Traub family are farmers.This summer's drought has hit more than half the states in the country. Crops are suffering, but farmers might not be. Most farmers have crop insurance.U.S. taxpayers spend about $7 billion a year on crop insurance. It's our largest farm subsidy.And this subsidy goes in part to farmers — who will tell you themselves they aren't so sure about the whole idea. "I have an aversion to it," says Jim Traub, a corn and bean farmer in Fairbury, Illinois. "But you're not going to turn it down."
Traub is attending a workshop at the Fairbury library on how to collect on his government-subsidized crop insurance. He brought the whole male half of his family — three generations of Traub farmers — to today's workshop. They're all named John or Jim.All the Traubs will file losses this year. But all of Traubs also feel uncomfortable that taxpayers will help cover those losses."Everyone in here is a millionaire," John Traub says. In all, farmers assembled at the Fairbury library have "hundreds of millions dollars in equity in farmland."
this is the same as giving tax breaks to rich, subsidies to big oil, loopholes for jet planes. we are on the hook for a lot more than we know.
Sumner says ski resorts suffered last winter when there wasn't a lot of snow. The government doesn't say, "Sorry you didn't have a lot of skiers. Here's a check."But farmers say farming is different. Donald Bielfeldt, a crop insurance agent in Anchor Illinois, says that the government needs to pay to insure farmers.
Somebody has to raise the cattle, hogs, chicken. I mean, that's what you live on.... We have to protect the farmer, so that they don't all go broke. And that's what crop insurance is all about.
But even without insurance, Traub says, most farmers would not go broke from this one bad season.
it's rigged those who started the country were rich they were not about to instigate any law or plan that would cause them not to be rich. same play different day, farming was the biggie back in that day, most were farmers who had the big bucks and the legislature, same play different day. i
n order to invoke change the haves have to be irradiated from the political process, they will never vote against their wn personal interest, we are the majority our vote counts no matter how much they try to suppress it, we over came before we can do it as many times as necessary.
