Holy Cow! Tea Party GOP leader Congresswoman Kristi Noem (South Dakota) really brings the subsidies home to her South Dakota! My son sent me the following information from an article in today’s Rapid City Journal. Last year, records show, the state collected more than $721 million in federal farm subsidies. When government-subsidized crop insurance is added to that, South Dakota agricultural sector received more than 1.2 billion in assistance! Holy Cow! And keep in mind that South Dakota farmers have been making record profits of the past several years! The population of Lyman County is 3,789 and last year Lyman County received $13.5 million in farm subsidy payments. Also, the “safety net” for farmers is crop insurance and taxpayers subsidize about 60 percent of a farmer’s premium. Taxpayers also pay about $1 billion annually (for all U.S. farmers) to cover the administrative costs of private crop insurers and also cover them in case they suffer particularly heavy losses. The taxpayers subsidized the U.S. crop insurance program $3.1 billion in 2001 and reached $14 billion last year! And of course South Dakota Tea Party sweetheart Rep. Kristi Noem says: “I really think we have reformed farm programs to the point where we have a basic safety net”. As for food stamps, Noem said cuts are necessary to reduce wasteful spending and cut down on fraud! Noem maintains that those food stamp cuts would have a relatively benign effect on the countries neediest.
Holy Cow! Kristi Noem has been telling us that “overspending by Washington has put our country on an unsustainable fiscal path and we are now faced with touch decisions to stop out-of-control spending! And she thinks cutting food stamps is the answer? America, we have a problem. And it starts with South Dakota Tea Party GOP Congresswoman Kristi Noem!
http://rapidcityjournal.com/...