One of the most egregious handout problems in the US economy is the Farm Bill. Handouts total $50 billion per year, equaling $50,000 per farmer, and the income cutoff is $2.6 million!! I know these folks work hard, but with the handouts their average income is way above the norm in the US.
In a recent The Becker-Posner Blog, Posner writes about this issue. The best near-term solution is to limit the subsidies to farmers at the income level of $200,000 or less. Posner discusses the current offer as proposed by the President, facilely. It probably won't happen, but the Dems should consider it. As I mentioned last time, it will probably take a bold change of leadership to address this kind of intransigent problem.
In the meantime, the extra money given to undeserving farmers is a tax, and an expensive one, on all other industries and persons. This is too big a group to get together and lobby, but too big an issue to continue to ignore.
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