flirting with farming subsidies
From the Rutland Herald comes an alarming soundbite by Dean, while on the trail in Iowa:
YIKES. Supporting massive agricultural subsidies is a scary position to take. The Dairy Compact is akin to OPEC for milk - a high-level body of milk manufacturers that has the authority to inflate the price of milk nationwide (note that a gallon of milk costs more in most cities than a gallon of gasoline). This directly hurts the consumer, especially lower-income families. Note that the primary beneficiaries of the Dairy Compact are Vermont dairy farmers.
A similar boondoggle is the ethanol subsidy. Common Cause reports that this subsidy to corn farmers has cost the Federal Treasury $7bn since 1997 (how may children would that have insured?). The primary beneficiaries are not small farmers, but giant agribusiness conglomerates like Archers-Daniel Midland, whose massive soft-money contributions keep the subsidy alive in Congress.
The issue of whether Dean supports these two massive government payouts was actually posed in the DeanBlog Interview (# 9), but we haven't had any response from the campaign yet. This quote from the road seems to be the first time Dean has addressed the issue.
The proposed beef and corn subsidy that Dean proposes is similar to these programs, and runs directly against the grain of Dean's reputation as a fiscal hawk. The TNR primary gave Dean an F for this in the Political Courage category, pointing out that there are only two reasons Dean could have for making this soundbite:
It will be especially interesting to see what Dean has to say about this when the responses to the DeanBlog interview come in. This is an issue that has a direct conflict between principle and politics. Dean's message has always been that he does what is right. Supporting these subsidies is a failure to meet his own standard.
And at a breakfast meeting in the Uptown Café in Jefferson, Dean promoted a farmer subsidy program for corn and beef, one that would be modeled after the Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact.
YIKES. Supporting massive agricultural subsidies is a scary position to take. The Dairy Compact is akin to OPEC for milk - a high-level body of milk manufacturers that has the authority to inflate the price of milk nationwide (note that a gallon of milk costs more in most cities than a gallon of gasoline). This directly hurts the consumer, especially lower-income families. Note that the primary beneficiaries of the Dairy Compact are Vermont dairy farmers.
A similar boondoggle is the ethanol subsidy. Common Cause reports that this subsidy to corn farmers has cost the Federal Treasury $7bn since 1997 (how may children would that have insured?). The primary beneficiaries are not small farmers, but giant agribusiness conglomerates like Archers-Daniel Midland, whose massive soft-money contributions keep the subsidy alive in Congress.
The issue of whether Dean supports these two massive government payouts was actually posed in the DeanBlog Interview (# 9), but we haven't had any response from the campaign yet. This quote from the road seems to be the first time Dean has addressed the issue.
The proposed beef and corn subsidy that Dean proposes is similar to these programs, and runs directly against the grain of Dean's reputation as a fiscal hawk. The TNR primary gave Dean an F for this in the Political Courage category, pointing out that there are only two reasons Dean could have for making this soundbite:
Not surprisingly, the article doesn't quote Dean elaborating on this ridiculous proposal, and Dean's website doesn't say a word about it. It's hard to tell which is worse: If Dean just decided to tell Iowans what he thinks they want to hear, or if actually believes this is a good idea.
It will be especially interesting to see what Dean has to say about this when the responses to the DeanBlog interview come in. This is an issue that has a direct conflict between principle and politics. Dean's message has always been that he does what is right. Supporting these subsidies is a failure to meet his own standard.
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