Posted by
Dave on Wednesday, May 21, 2008 2:50:37 AM
The more I thought about the passage of the Farm Bill last week, the
angrier I got. So, I decided to write my Texas Senators, Kay Bailey
Hutchison and John Cornyn, and complain. Both
claim
to advocate limited government, fiscal responsibility, and free market
capitalism. The Farm Bill passed last week contains none of the above.
Dear Senator:
I
read with great sadness that you voted in favor of the $302 billion
"Farm Bill" last week. As a Republican committed to limited
government, property rights, and individual liberty, I find none of the
above in the wealth transfer facilitated in this piece of legislation.
Confiscating the paychecks of one group of citizens to give to another
certainly seems out of line with Republican principles, and certain
this kind of legislation goes against the promises Republicans have
made to cut the size and scope of government and provide tax relief to
individuals and families. The Founding Fathers certainly never
intended such a bill, although James Madison certainly predicted it in
Federalist Paper No. 10.
Among the provisions of the bill,
wealthy farmers continue to receive cash payments — welfare for the
wealthy, but wrong even if the neediest farmers are receiving them, as
it amounts to paying for failed enterprises. This certainly does not
encourage more responsible farming practices. A "permanent disaster
fund" encourages planting on disaster-prone lands. Instead of ending
altogether the price-raising, environment polluting, anti-free trade
sugar subsidy system, it continues it and even increases it. And of
course, the bill is laden with earmarks — earmarks that Congress
pledged to end.
The agricultural markets are booming, and farm
income is at an all-time high. Why should money be confiscated from
the paychecks of working Americans — citizens who are paying these high
prices for food — and be redistributed to farmers?
Now is the
perfect time to live up to the promise of the Freedom to Farm Act
enacted under the original Republican Congress, which phased out farm
subsidies and worked to establish a true free market agricultural
system in the US.
I urge you to support a veto of this
legislation by President Bush. I urge you to join the 13 Republican
Senators and 2 Democrats in voting to sustain this veto. And, I urge
you to work to convince other free market, limited government Senators,
Democrat or Republican, to join you. This bill is bad for individuals
and families, bad for the nation, and bad for Texas.
Sincerely,
Dave Smith
Houston, TX
By
the way, if you haven't read Federalist No. 10, it's pretty interesting
and, absent the archaic language, could easily be of contemporary
origin.