Subsidies for farmers at a time when food prices are very high and the government is facing a budget deficit seem like a really bad idea. How do other people feel about this? Congress seems to plan to override Bush’s veto on this. It makes me slightly concerned about the prospect of a President and Congress controlled by the same party. What is Obama’s position on farm subsidies? Here is one piece that discusses the distorting effects of farm subsidies. After living in Tanzania near a sugar cane plantation and now in Maui, where I have to drive through a sugar plantation which causes severe air pollution, I can tell you that it is not economically sensible to be growing sugar cane in the U.S. It can be done much cheaper in other countries. When our county is suffering from an epidemic of obesity and diabetes, why are we trying to protect an uncompetitive sugar industry?
