Renewing Farm Subsidies Expected to Cost $1.4 Trillion
The farming industry is the recipient of billions of dollars of subsidies and direct payments from the federal government annually. As Congress prepares to reauthorize a farm bill later this year extending these benefits, The Washington Post found that modifying these programs could save taxpayers billions.
Farm subsidies date back to the Great Depression, but the farm industry has since grown and modernized substantially, making the program outdated at best, and unnecessary at worst.
Direct government support for commodities like corn and soybeans adds up to about $49.3 billion over the standard 10-year forecasting window. Additionally, the government offers heavily subsidized crop insurance, of which taxpayers’ foot the bill for about 60% of farmers’ premiums. Tightening payout criteria could save taxpayers $24.4 billion over 10 years.
Extending the legislation as-is will be expensive, with the Congressional Budget Office estimating it will cost $1.4 trillion over 10 years. Most of the farm bill, however, goes towards food assistance programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP benefits).
Open The Books investigated farm subsidies in a 2018 report, and found the federal government paid $13.2 billion in farm subsidies to 957,109 recipients in 2017. Of those, 389 recipients collected over $1 million in subsidies, and $626 million flowed to urban areas.
The federal government needs to rethink if the billions in subsidies it gives to farmers is really necessary.
The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com
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