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June 13th, 2012
10:06 PM ET
Farm bill is set to reduce U.S. deficit. Does it add up?
The Senate voted Wednesday to proceed with the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012 also know as the 'Farm Bill.' A bi-partisan effort in the Senate to cut potentially $25 billion from farm subsidies. Proponents of the plan say it will help bring down the U.S. deficit.
But, does it add up?
CNN's Dana Bash sits down with Senators Debbie Stabenow and Pat Roberts of the Senate Agriculture Committee.
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RT @CNN: Konstantin Yefremov, a Russian soldier who fled Russia after he was dismissed from the army for refusing to return to Ukraine, spe…
Part of our conversation: vimeo.com/795428219/6aec….
He says this to Ukrainians: “ I ask the Ukrainian people for forgiveness, that I came to their land with a gun in my hand”.
He is in Mexico now. He’s approached border guards and says he got nowhere. He is now seeking political asylum to ttwitter.com/i/web/status/1…rVHH
He fled Russia in early Jan. He shared his dismissal papers with us. In part “this serviceman refused to go to thetwitter.com/i/web/status/1…LXt9
Farm subsidies are really not subsidies. Farmers give information on the exact acres that are planted in corn, soybeans, and etc. The government knows about how many bushels each crop will produced according to the past information the farmers gave them. That is tabulated in NASS National Agriculture Statistic Service. This information and all so how much grain is sold by the farmers is available to the large grain buyers. United States government buys information from the farmers. Even the farmers don't know about this. It is not call Farm subsidies it is call the Government Farm Program. The Government Farm Program affects the Chicago Grain Markets by providing statistics. Alan Greenspan wrote in his book "The Era of Turbulence" if you get the statistics of the producers you will take away his bargaining power.
Great! 24 Billion down (until the next drought). Typically theyre taking it from small Ameican businesses.
Now can we end the subsidies to the oil companies who REALLY don't need them?