Vilsack and the triumph of corn
Ezra Klein of the Washington Post interviewed secretary of agriculture and former Iowa governor, Tom Vilsack and asked why the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture so generously funds rural America through programs like ethanol and farm commodity subsidies. Vilsack responded that rural Americans are cool. “There is a value system to support,” he said. “These are good, hardworking people who feel underappreciated.” The comments highlight the Obama administration’s irrational preference for rural communities over urban ones, which of course has big implications for states like Iowa and other midwestern agriculture centers.
To Vilsack’s credit, he get into some specifics and even argues that corn and ethanol subsidies “need to be phased out.” But the money is still flowing right now. (more…)
Tags: commodity subsidies, ethanol, Illinois, Iowa, rural America, Tom Vilsack