Farm bill redux.

• Author: Mangu-Ward, Katherine
• Position: Ag subsidies again - Agricultural Act of 2014 - Brief article

IN JANUARY, the House passed a $1 trillion farm bill. In February, the Senate signed on, with much bipartisan backpatting. Senate Agriculture Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) crowed, "Congress has come together to pass a major bipartisan jobs bill."

Three years in the making, the massive bill eliminates direct farm subsidies--giant checks cut to mostly rich farmers--but replaces them with an elaborate crop insurance scheme, which is likely to cost taxpayers at least $89 billion over the next decade. Other boondoggles also remain untouched, including the expensive and inefficient series of subsidies to U.S. sugar companies. The 1,000-page...