Pork production has its place in agricultural legislation. But lawmakers should concern themselves with swine that have curly tails and cloven hooves, not those sporting Armani suits.
It's not every day that I find myself agreeing with the Bush administration, but I have to applaud one of their proposals for the farm bill currently being cobbled together by Congress.
As it stands now, any farmer who makes less than $2.5 million a year is eligible for commodity subsidies. The administration, straying for once from its give-to-the-very-rich philosophy, wants to drop that limit to $200K. Not too shabby, but lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have reacted with squeals that would make any pig pen seem quiet.
Their outrage would be laudable, if the goal was to support beleaguered family farms. But The Wall Street Journal reported that, at last count, 80 "farmers" making more than the new limit resided within the Washington, D. C. Beltway, an area not exactly noted for its amber waves of grain.
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