on farm subsidies

in writing my last post on creamer ranch, i discovered a site sponsored by environmental working group featuring a searchable database of farms drawing subsidies from 1995 to 2003.

naturally i was curious about my ohioan neighbors, and was shocked by what i found. although most of those listed were alive, a nearby school received corn, wheat, soybean, and oat subsidies, which seems suspicious. a family friend (and millionaire) also received subsidies, although he doesn't operate a farm.

my next door neighbor was the fifth-largest recipient in our zip code, and an old classmate's family was number one with subsidies totaling over three-quarters of a million dollars. my own family's small farm was near the bottom of the list.

most of the subsidy recipients i know live quite well. my aforementioned classmate was one of the more "well off" at my school. despite declarations that these subsidies are necessary during lean years, it seems that most farmers have enough resources to, with better planning, spread their money out and get off the taxpayer dole.

i don't mean to imply that my friends and neighbors are bad people for taking money when they don't need it; on the contrary, they are the best of people (my relatives, in particular). however, when presented with easy money and a culture assuming that it's necessary for one's survival, who wouldn't take it? adaptation makes this money, once accepted, seem necessary to accommodate an artificially heightened lifestyle.