The farm bill fiasco

"But everyone who is honest knows the farm bill is a mess, and is every four years. Nobody however, has the intestinal fortitude to fix it." 

How does Washington work? Not very well, I am afraid. Bet that is a surprise. Kind of like saying that water is wet. The latest example of the entropy that Washington exists in, is the long awaited "farm" bill. Excuse me for putting farm in quotes. But it seems like this monster of a bill has everything in it but the kitchen sink. Farm stuff? Maybe a little bit - but not much.

The frosting on the cake was to punish Saudi Arabia for what they are doing in Yemen. Stop supplying support so that Saudi can try and stem the tide of what the Iranians are doing over there. But of course, this goes deeper than that. It is about the Crown Prince. About what the CIA believes he orchestrated. You know - the dismembering and painful death of Jamal Khashoggi.

And food stamps. Why on Earth (I ask this all the time), are food stamps and nutritional programs in a farm bill? Should this not just be about farming? But it never is. For example, the last farm bill (they last four years) which was signed in 2014, was almost 1,000 pages long, and worth almost a trillion dollars. Like the one which just passed through the House, it too was a mess. And of the total, $756B was for SNAP (food stamps) and other nutritional programs.

There are other things in this bill which have nothing to do with agriculture. Out state broadband. Huh? Mental health support for farmers. Again, huh? In other words, once again we have allowed a bill to become a Hodge podge of garbage. A true omnibus mess. But to vote against this insanity would be perceived to be voting against farmers.

Maybe in 2022, when the farm bill once again comes up for renewal, President Trump will be in his second term and we will have a conservative Congress. I know - figure the odds. But everyone who is honest knows the farm bill is a mess, and is every four years. Nobody however, has the intestinal fortitude to fix it. So, the SNAP Program continues to be one of the most fraud riddled programs in the country. And nobody can stem that tide. Our money, going up in flames.

Want to get elected and go fix Washington? Good luck with that one! Many have tried, all have failed. Bills like the farm bill are juggernauts. They seem to have a life of their own. Donald Trump is trying to change Washington, and look at the headwinds he is facing. So, enjoy the farm bill folks. We all paid for it, we all own it, we are all stuck with it.