City Slickers And Farm Subsidies
Monday, September 17th, 2007 12:15 pm by Neal |
| Have a look at the map of Manhattan. The red dots indicate people who live in Manhattan (and so clearly are neither hurting for money nor tilling the soil on the family farm) but receive agricultural subsidies from the federal government. The larger red blobs mark people receiving more than a quarter of a million dollars in farm subsidies annually. (Source) |
Remember the above map? It is a graphical presentation of bi-partisan, government waste and corporate welfare. It’s a sad depiction of the fact that fiscal conservatism in the Federal government is D.E.A.D. We need not just pick on the “farmers” from Manhattan, however, because there is so much subsidized, agricultural money to be had that one has to see this map of the entire country to appreciate the extent of the waste.
Here’s a humourous take on the whole, sad story. Laugh at the parody before crying at the reality.
The authors of the parody add these comments.
You may envision your farm subsidy dollars going to hardworking farmers on picturesque farms, but unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. Every year absentee landowners, corporations and other “farmers” collect hundreds of millions of dollars in farm subsidies, all while living smack in the middle of some of America’s wealthiest metropolitan areas. All you need to qualify for farm subsidy payments is a stake in qualifying farmland (and a good lawyer to help you wade through the paperwork). Last time we checked there were no farms on 5th Avenue, but somehow people are getting big bucks to “farm” there anyway.