Harvesting votes on the taxpayers' backs

There's nothing like an election year. President Bush has discovered fiscal responsibility during his lame-duck tour since he no longer has to run for anything. But politicians running for re-election think the gravy train is still running.

A news release landed in my inbox from Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the most powerful Republican in the United States Senate. He is running for re-election. Among other things, we learn that Mitch is in favor of school kids eating healthy food. He apparently is less concerned about how farm subsidies hurt taxpayers -- not to mention how farm policy helps drive up the cost of food. This puts him in the same camp with Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the house and big advocate of the bill. Maybe fewer people would need food stamps, which is most of the cost of this legislation, if food prices weren't shooting up.

Here's Mitch's press release:

Senate Passes Farm Bill; Helps Kentucky Farmers
“Kentucky farmers will benefit greatly from the many important programs that are promoted and preserved in this bill”

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell announced Thursday the Senate passed the Farm Bill conference report, which contains several important provisions to benefit the hard-working farm families of Kentucky.

“Kentucky farmers will benefit greatly from the many important programs that are promoted and preserved in this bill,” McConnell said. “I was pleased to support it on behalf of Kentucky’s farmers and their families who do so much for our commonwealth and the nation.”

Agriculture generates $4 billion for Kentucky’s economy every year. The commonwealth is the largest beef-cattle producing state east of the Mississippi, produces a diverse array of crops, and ranks fourth in the nation in the number of farms per state. In fact, 54 percent of Kentucky’s acreage is farmland.

The conference report contains a wide array of conservation efforts which will lead to improved air quality, cleaner drinking water, and less soil erosion, among other environmental benefits to our commonwealth.

It also includes a provision authored by Senator McConnell calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to survey what schools are serving to our children. This information will help USDA provide guidance to schools to serve healthier meals. This provision is sorely needed because USDA’s most recent data on this question is over a decade old.

“Educating our kids about the food they eat has been a top priority for me,” McConnell said. “In the last 30 years, the childhood obesity rate has more than tripled. Today over 4.5 million American children are facing a lifetime of all the increased health risks that obesity causes. This nutrition provision can be the first step towards reversing that unfortunate trend.”

The conference report also contains a provision authored by Senator McConnell to support Kentucky’s largest agricultural product, the horse industry. It would ensure that all race horses are depreciated over 3 years for tax purposes - regardless of when the horses start training. The current tax code does not accurately reflect the length of a horse's racing life.

“The horse industry employs 50,000 Kentuckians and contributes $3.5 billion to our economy year-round,” McConnell said. “By adding this provision to the bill, we have ensured that this important part of our farm economy is treated fairly.”

The Farm Bill conference report is supported by the Kentucky Farm Bureau.

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I'm no expert on the tax advantages of depreciating race horses, so maybe that's a fine idea. But here's a dose of reality on the farm bill from USA Today, the New York Times and other sources:

-- It is expected to cost $289 billion over five years.
-- It is larded with earmarks added by lawmakers in election fights.
-- It maintains subsidies for corn and other crops despite the fact that prices are at record levels and many farmers are doing quite well these days.

Even the president can't stomach the bill for the way it rewards big-time farming. He noted that couples making as much as $2.5 million a year could qualify for payments.

This is classic Congressional behavior: Take something that needs to be done and make it cost far more than it should. President Bush has threatened to veto the bill. Members of Congress are confident they can override. And, by the way, according to the Times, neither Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama nor John McCain bothered to show up and vote.