Via the NYT: Bush Is Said to Seek Sharp Cuts in Subsidy Payments to Farmers

President Bush will seek deep cuts in farm and commodity programs in his new budget and in a major policy shift will propose overall limits on subsidy payments to farmers, administration officials said Saturday.

Such limits would help reduce the federal budget deficit and would inject market forces into the farm economy, the officials said.

Both of which are worthy goals. I have to wonder, however, whether such cuts will survive the legislative process.

As far as I am concerned, the federal government should start a slow, yet long-term phase out of all farmer subsidies. There is no compelling reason to subsidze farming in the US except to fight against the tide of economic transformation in the area of agriculture that began decades ago. Aside from romance, there is no compelling need for the federal government to maintain the “small family farm.”

We face no crisis in terms of feeding ourselves, and won’t if many family farms close down. Indeed, large corporate farms are far better at feedin us in the 21st century than are small farms. Many may not like that fact, but a fact it is.

Now, I am wholly aware that immediate cessation of subsidies would be devastating to large numbers of persons who have designed their livelihoods around the existence of these payments. Hence, I favor a slow, long-term phase out. Further, I have not doubt that a large number of small farms would survive such a shift, as many of them would still be competitive in an open marketplace.

Indeed, I would phase out all subsidies to all inudstries in the United States.