Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'farm subsidies'

September 03, 2009

Acton Commentary: Too Much Government Makes Us Sick

I take a look at the way corn subsidies skew our eating habits — and not always for the good of our health — in this week’s Acton Commentary. Excerpt: Government policy-makers regularly prove themselves to be unwise decision-makers by continuing to introduce arbitrary agricultural price distortions that create incentives for producing unhealthy food through farm subsidies. Continue Reading...
December 17, 2007

A Fruity Farm Bill

Late last Friday the US Senate passed a federal farm subsidies bill, amounting to over $286 billion over five years. For the first time funding has been extended to new areas like support for fruits and vegetables. Continue Reading...
December 07, 2007

Farm Subsidies Follow-up: Feed the Rich

In one of this week’s Acton Commentaries, Ray Nothstine and I juxtapose a static, sedentary dependence on government subsidies with a dynamic, entrepreneurial spirit of innovation. The impetus for this short piece was an article that originally appeared in the Grand Rapids Press (linked in the commentary). Continue Reading...
December 05, 2007

Farm Subsidies: Sustaining Dependency

Are farmers hooked on pork? Jordan Ballor and Ray Nothstine look at the current battle over farm subsidies. “By encouraging the production of overabundant commodities, the government is creating a cycle of dependency that undermines entrepreneurial initiative,” they write. Continue Reading...
February 16, 2007

Change on farm subsidies?

I’m not quite sure what to make of this story from Catholic News Service. Its quotations concerning agricultural subsidies from Fr. Andrew Small, a “policy adviser for the U.S. bishops,” while not all perfectly clear without their context, seem to indicate a shift in direction compared to earlier statements from the USCCB. Continue Reading...
December 21, 2006

Just Say No to (Corporate) Welfare

Just say “No!” to corporate welfare. That’s a pretty good motto, I think. And it seems that one form of corporate welfare, the vast system of farm subsidies, is getting some increased critical mainstream coverage. Continue Reading...