Tired of Farmers & Ranchers Crying Poor Mouth? Wait til You Get a Load of This

UPDATE FARM BILL PASSED

In Recession, Modest Help for Most Americans, But Big Bucks for Big Farms


WASHINGTON, April 14, 2008. Over the next few weeks, some American couples will get $1,200 of their own money back from Washington. This is the maximum, one-time tax rebate Congress provided last February in their desperate attempt to revive our faltering economy that has since been declared in recession.

By contrast, in a few months some other American couples, who operate some of the largest, most profitable farms in the country or merely own huge swaths of farmland, could be receiving 100 times that amount from the government-$120,000. That's what could happen if the House version of the 2008 farm bill becomes law later this week.

What's more, $120,000 will just be the first of five guaranteed annual crop subsidy payments that will bring them $600,000 through 2012.

The disparity owes much to the decades-old momentum behind farm subsidies which delivered $13.4 billion to farmers in 2006, according to the latest update of the Environmental Working Group's Farm Subsidy Database website (site and analysis).

Now including 2006 USDA data, the new website shows that from 1995 to 2006 or the past 12 years, taxpayers have sent over $177 billion in subsidies to farmers. Taxpayers will continue to send billions more, even as the farm economy posts record prices for many crops, and record incomes for most farmers.

To put this crop subsidy largesse in perspective, at median home prices reported by the National Association of Realtors for the last quarter of 2007, $600,000 would buy eight or more homes in places like Youngstown, OH, Saginaw, MI and Decatur, IL.

Under the House bill, a couple receiving the new maximum direct payment ($120,000 per couple per year or $600,000 for 5 years) will receive taxpayer dollars equivalent to five or more median-priced houses--one per year--in 26 metropolitan areas.

Without the increase in the subsidy limit from the House bill and merely an extension of the current maximum payment of $80,000 per couple per year over five years ($400,000 total), you could still buy 3 or more median-priced homes in 44 metro areas.

"You can't have a policy discussion in Washington without asking, how will it play in Peoria?" said Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group.

"That will depend on how people living there feel about big farmers all around them, raking in record incomes and still getting enough in subsidies to buy three median-priced Peoria homes with the existing direct payment limit over five years," Cook added.

"If the House bill becomes law, big farmers would be able to buy 5 median-priced Peoria homes since it, gives couples an extra $40,000 each, every year for the next five. We can imagine how the American public may respond to the stunning unfairness of such a policy," said Cook.

Other findings:

Top 2006 Recipients - Riceland Foods, a rice cooperative, received $7.7 million in 2006.
Corn is King - Over the past twelve years, taxpayers have spent $56 billion on corn subsidies paid to over 1.5 million recipients, making it the top crop for federal assistance.
Concentration of Payments - 50% of all subsidies go to just 9 states while 22 of the nation's 435 congressional districts collect over half of all subsidy payments.
Senate and House Agriculture Committees -The 19 states currently represented on the Senate Agriculture Committee take home 59 percent of all subsidies paid over the last 12 years while the 45 congressional districts currently represented on the House Agriculture Committee accounted for 42 percent of the national subsidy total.
Full URL for 2006 farm subsidy data: http://farm.ewg.org/farm/

# # #

The EWG is a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, DC that uses the power of information to protect human health and the environment. The group's farm subsidy database can be found at www.mulchblog.com

FACTOID: 70% of all our available croplands are used for the growing of cattle feed!

Click on title above to go to the data-base to see who is getting paid and how much
http://farm.ewg.org/newsrelease.php

Also, check out the info in the link below to read all about "Welfare Ranching," the Subsidized Destruction of Our American West;

http://www.publiclandsranching.org/book.htm

Porker of the Year Award / Nominees'

Our public officials in Washington spent tax dollars like a bunch of drunken sailors in 2009, leaving taxpayers with a monstrous $12 trillion national debt hanging over their future. But who truly stood out as the worst custodian of your hard-earned money last year? Cast your vote for CAGW’s 2009 Porker of the Year!

Chosen by CAGW staff from among the 2009 Porkers of the Month, the nominees are:

Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii), for posing a multiple threat to taxpayers: He ranked first in earmarks in the House in fiscal year 2009 with 44 projects costing $256.8 million; routinely abuses an already-stretched defense budget to reward favored contractors; and has obstinately supported funding a wasteful and unnecessary alternate engine for the Joint Strike Fighter over the Pentagon’s objections.

Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.), for grossly misrepresenting the costs of healthcare reform legislation, which elicited loud guffaws at a town hall meeting with his constituents last summer.

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), for expressing outrage that AIG employee bonuses “rewarded failure,” while championing the TARP financial bailout and for years defending the shoddy business practices of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are now in taxpayer conservatorship.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), for requesting 149 pork-barrel projects at a cost to taxpayers of $1.6 billion in authorization and appropriations bills for fiscal year 2010 -- thereby personifying the tiresome hypocrisy of some members of Congress who want to claim the badge of fiscal conservatism while continuing to abscond with billions of dollars in wasteful pork projects.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, for presiding over the distribution of tens of billions of tax dollars for transportation projects in the economic stimulus package, despite his long-standing reputation as a top porker while serving in the House of Representatives from 1995 until 2008.

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), for reminding taxpayers that members of Congress still have not banned the practice of naming projects after themselves after she provoked a tussle with House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) over her intention to build a "Monument to Me" by obtaining an earmark for the Maxine Waters Employment Preparation Center.

Christine, CNBC promoted our 2009 Porker of the Year poll on Monday, January 11, and the network plans to broadcast the results in early February, so cast your vote by January 31 to help CAGW decide who will receive the “dishonor” of being named 2009 Porker of the Year!

Sincerely,

Thomas A. Schatz
President

P.S. Christine, help us get as many taxpaying Americans as possible to take part in our poll. Forward this message to your friends, neighbors, and colleagues.

***
Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation's largest taxpayer watchdog group with more than one million members and supporters nationwide. It is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. Donations to CAGW are tax-deductible as charitable contributions to the extent permitted by law. For more information about CAGW, visit our website at www.cagw.org. Make a tax-deductible contribution today to support CAGW’s waste-fighting efforts that have saved taxpayers $1.08 trillion.

Obombas' "Middle Class" - Who R They?

With Obomba getting ready to launch a new "Middle Class Initative," it would seem the first REASONABLE thing to do before setting out any new policies or expenditures would be to clearly define who and/or what is middle-class. As you will see after reading the article below, the term is ambigious.
---------------

What is an Average Middle Class Salary Range?

By Stephanie Chandler
eHow Contributing Writer

What is the middle class, and who defines it? There is no solid description with clear salary ranges that define the middle class, but U.S. agencies and economists do try to put numbers to this seemingly abstract group of people

The Poverty Line

As of 2009, the poverty threshold as determined by the U.S. Census Bureau had not changed since 2006. For a family of four it is $21,203. For a family of three it is $16,530. For a family of two and unrelated individuals it is $13,540 and $10,590 respectively.

U.S. Census Quintiles

The U.S. Census Bureau breaks down the reported household incomes into quintiles (or five divisions). In 2007, the middle quintile reported an income range of $36,000 to $57,660. Many economists and politicians alike believe this range is too narrow to encompass the true middle class of America. Therefore a more generous range would include the middle three quintiles, which makes the range from $19,178 to $91,705. This range accounts for 60% of all households, and with the lower end balancing near the poverty threshold, this range may not be completely accurate.

Median Income

The 2008 census reported the medium income as $50,233. The Pew Research Center suggests that the middle income range is 75 percent to 150 percent of the median income. This makes the current middle class income range $37,675 to $75,350. To most, this range seems small and surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center find that many who fall outside this range still consider themselves middle class.




Economist Views

Economist Gary Burtless of Brookings Institution indicates that the middle class encompasses from one-half the median income to twice the median income. This makes the middle class income range $25,117 to $100,466.
MIT economist Frank Levy believes that those in the middle class have enough money to afford the basic building blocks of a good life including a house, a car and money to pay necessary bills. He suggests that families in their prime earning years are middle class if they fall between $30,000 and $90,000.



More Than Just Income

Surveys conducted by the PewResearch Center confirm that salary, or income, range is not the only determining factor of what class a person considers him/herself. Four out of 10 Americans with incomes below $20,000 classify themselves as middle class. On the other end, 1/3 of those who enjoy incomes over $150,000 say they are middle class. Being middle class is just as much a feeling of well-being as it is an income label.





http://www.ehow.com/about_5212740_average-middle-class-salary-range_.html

CHART OF THE DAY: How The AIG Bailout REALLY Worked

Joe Weisenthal and Kamelia Angelova | Jan. 27, 2010, 4:12 PM | 2,349 | 8
Print
Tags: Wall Street, Chart Of The Day, AIG, Bailout

Confused about the ongoing AIG controversy?

Don't be any longer.

Professor Linus Wilson has put together this helpful chart showing exactly how the bailout went down, complete with which banks got how much. (Click on chart to enlarge)










Two things stand out: The Treasury's overpayment for preferred stock was a crucial part of the bailout, and though Goldman Sachs is usually held up as the bad guy here, SocGen received $2.5 billion more.

Hope the Europeans appreciate your (the taxpayer) ponying up.



http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-how-the-aig-bailout-worked-2010-1?utm_source=Triggermail

How to End an Abusive Relationship with Yer Bank($ters)

From Bill Maher;

Stop the Abuse: It's Time to Break Up With Your Big Bank

Hello, I'd like to take a moment to address the millions and millions of you all across America who are currently stuck in an abusive relationship.
Now I know what some of you are thinking: Who is Bill Maher to give me relationship advice?

But that doesn't mean I don't know a dysfunctional relationship when I see one. Especially when it's staring me right in the face.

You know who you are. Those of you staying in a relationship long after it's turned bad. Sticking around despite the abuse -- even as it's gotten worse and worse over the years. Sticking around only because it seems easier than breaking up -- and besides, where else are you going to go?

That's right, I'm talking to all of you that keep doing your banking at the giant, too big to fail, Wall Street banks that brought our economy to the brink of disaster, were rescued by trillions of dollars of our taxpayer money, then paid us back by using that money to hire lobbyists to convince our lawmakers in Washington to kill financial reform.

They took our money... but cut back on lending.

They took our money... and made record profits -- and paid themselves record bonuses.

They took our money... then returned to the risky behavior that led to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, with record unemployment, bankruptcies, and foreclosures.

They took our money... but kept on with all the greedy, abusive, ruthless, and cold-blooded practices that have earned them untold billions of dollars a year -- year after year after year. Things like charging you outrageous fees for anything and everything, jacking up your credit card interest rate to 30 percent for being late on one payment (it's a good thing sodomy is legal!), and refusing to renegotiate your mortgage after the housing bubble they helped create burst.

These big banks, deemed "Too Big To Fail" by our Wall Street-friendly leaders in Washington, are convinced that they can get away with anything -- because they always have.

But here's the thing. You don't have to put up with this nonsense. You don't have to stay in a loveless, abusive relationship with your Big Bank.

In fact, it's easy to get out -- and into something much, much better.

My friend Arianna Huffington has started a campaign designed to convince people to move their money out of these big banks and put them into smaller, local, community banks and credit unions that are more likely to see you as a person, not as an account number... and also to reinvest in the community where they are.

It's a pretty simple idea: If enough people who have money in one of the Big Six banks -- that is, JP Morgan/Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs -- move it into a local community bank or credit union, then collectively we, the people, will have taken a big step toward fixing our broken financial system.

It's easy, and painless, and will send a powerful message to Wall Street and to our leaders in Washington.

Face it: Real change is not going to come from Congress. It's not going to come from the White House. And it's certainly not going to come from the lobbyists Wall Street hires to make sure their special interests keep beating out the public interest.

We've got to do it ourselves. And moving your money is a great way to start.

This is not a conservative idea or a liberal idea. It's not left or right. It's populism at it's best -- and it's already attracted people from all walks of life who are sick and tired of the Big Banks and are ready to do something about it.

So it's time to go break up with your banker and get the hell out. Go to MoveYourMoney.info and see just how easy it is to end your abusive relationship and find true banking love. Or, at least hot, sweaty, monkey, banking sex.

MoveYourMoney.info. Tell 'em Dr. Bill sent you...

------------------------------

To watch a video of Bill on Moving You Money, click on title above;
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-maher/stop-the-abuse-its-time-t_b_422068.html

The Message in a Crooked Broker's Reduced Sentence

DANIEL SOLIN Posted 9:00 PM 01/24/10 Columns, People, Investing

Eric Butler, a former broker with Credit Suisse, had a lot to be worried about when he walked into the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Friday for sentencing. A jury had found him guilty of misleading his clients into believing they were purchasing low-risk, auction rate securities backed by student loans, with federal guarantees. Instead, the hapless clients were sold high-risk, high-commission auction rate securities backed by home mortgage assets.

Butler altered the trade confirmations to make them appear to reflect securities backed by student loans. But the scheme fell apart when the auction rate securities market collapsed.

The government claimed losses exceeded $1.12 billion and asked for a sentence of 45 years in prison, plus significant monetary penalties. But Butler caught a major break. U.S. District Court Judge Jack Weinstein sentenced him to only five years in prison and fined him $5 million.

Judge Weinstein isn't your run-of-the-mill jurist. He has been a federal judge for 43 years, is a prolific author and one of the most experienced and respected judges in this country. After the jury returned its guilty verdict, Judge Weinstein signaled his concern about allocating all of the blame for these misdeeds to Butler. Said Weinstein: "What becomes evident in a trial like the present one, and in recent mortgage fraud cases, is how pernicious and pervasive is the culture of corruption" in the securities industry.

He repeated these views on Friday, noting the reduced sentence took into consideration "the pernicious and pervasive culture of corruption in the financial-services industry," which is "beset by avarice."

Wake-Up Call to Investors

Weinstein left no doubt about his view of Credit Suisse's culpability, stating that "[T]he blame for this condition is shared not only by individual defendants like Butler, but also the institutions that employ them."

This judicial validation of the pervasive greed and dishonesty in the securities industry should be a wake-up call to investors. It's difficult to understand why investors continue to trust their assets to members of this industry. It's bad enough that brokers generally lack the expertise to manage your assets. It's worse that, if you're a victim of broker misconduct, the mandatory, industry-run arbitration process is rigged to ensure you won't recover any meaningful portion of your losses.

I appreciate Judge Weinstein taking corruption and greed in the securities industry into account as an argument against a long prison sentence for Butler. What's your argument for continuing to place your trust in the securities industry?
Print


http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/investing/the-message-in-a-crooked-brokers-reduced-sentence/19328974/?icid=main|hp-desktop|dl5|link6|http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/investing/the-message-in-a-crooked-brokers-reduced-sentence/19328974/

Vacationing in Hell: Cruise Ships Land in Haiti

Vacationing in Hell: Cruise Ships Land in Haiti
Updated: 1 day 4 hours ago

Dave Thier
Contributor
(Jan. 18) -- It would seem that nothing, not even a devastating earthquake that has claimed tens of thousands of lives, can deter the American vacationer's drive to unwind. To prove the point, one cruise ship from Florida-based Royal Caribbean International landed in Haiti on Friday, the Guardian reports, and three more are due in this week.

Royal Caribbean cruise passengers visit Labadee Beach, a walled resort only 60 miles from the epicenter of the quake. On its Web site, the company advertises "pristine beaches," "breathtaking scenery" and "native charm." Armed guards patrol the perimeter, even under normal conditions.

Caribbean vacations have always provided a stark contrast between decadent resorts and the impoverished countries that house them, but not even the magic of the cruise ship could hide the horror at this uncommon port of call.


Joe Kafka, AP
Royal Caribbean is continuing to ferry passengers to its Haitian resort at Labadee despite the misery wrought by the earthquake in Port-au-Prince.
"I just can't see myself sunning on the beach, playing in the water, eating a barbecue and enjoying a cocktail while there are tens of thousands of dead people being piled up on the streets," one commenter wrote on an Internet forum about cruises.

While Royal Caribbean's decision to cruise on to the destroyed country might seem callous, the company defends its decision, saying its ships are transporting not just cruise passengers but also foodstuffs for Haitians. The company has promised to use 100 percent of the proceeds from its cruise visits to Labadee to benefit victims of the quake.



More Coverage:
- Miraculous Rescues Continue
- Quake Orphans Thousands
- Aid Follows Refugees Into Jacmel
- Dad Found Alive With Goodbye Note
- New Satellite Photos
- Quake Stirs Painful Memories
- Did Katrina Spur Haiti Donations?
- DJ Hits Airwaves for Aid Mission
- Dead Left Where They Lie
- General Downplays Violence
- How You Can Help
"In the end, Labadee is critical to Haiti's recovery; hundreds of people rely on Labadee for their livelihood," Vice President John Weis told The Guardian. "In our conversations with [Haiti's special envoy to the U.N.] Leslie Voltaire, he notes that Haiti will benefit from the revenues that are generated from each call."

Cruises and resorts suffer from the same moral difficulties as sweatshops. On one hand, the symbolism behind impoverished workers slaving to provide luxuries to Western consumers is repulsive, while on the other hand, those industries are vital to the economies of developing nations. Guardian columnist Gwyn Topham points out that Friday's visit was really just business as usual -- the only difference was scale.

"Tourism provides a microcosm of modern globalized inequality, with all the advantages or injustices it bestows on those on different sides of the divide," he wrote. "From the Caribbean to Southeast Asia, cheap labor and land allow holidaymakers to relax in style for less."

Some passengers are determined to make the best of their sunny day in hell. "I'll be there on Tuesday, and I plan on enjoying my zip line excursion as well as the time on the beach," one told The Guardian.

Royal Caribbean says it is providing "at least $1 million in humanitarian relief" to Haiti.


Disaster in HaitiGerald Herbert, AP30 photos A market area in Port-au-Prince looks otherworldly as people walk past burning debris Monday, six days after the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that devastated Haiti.