Wow, thank you SO much, everyone, for all your criticisms, questions and points. You have no idea how much I appreciate all of you taking the time to voice your ideas and concerns. This truly helps me to do a better job and to learn. Wonderful points, everyone. Until the next graphic!

“And here I thought it was conservative to be pro-free market and thus *against* big government’s corporate subsidies for the agri-business conglomerates.”

True and I agree, wholeheartedly.

However, I read the comparison as not enough is being spent on individuals as compared to corporations and that individuals should increase exponentially to that of the alleged corporate welfare.

Hence, LLTWS! Long-Live-The-Welfare-State.

Actually, some food subsidies are corporate subsidies, too. Save for the milk cartons, all of the food served in school breakfast programs is prepackaged, brand-name carbs – individual servings of cereal, donuts, and ‘health’ bars. There is a reason these foods are served individually packaged rather than in bulk – to create brand loyalty. The food companies try to get schools to carry out promotional activities on their behalf. I know this because I am a teacher who supervises breakfast.

Ditto for WIC. WIC coupons specify whichever brand has a contract with the state. The number of containers listed on the coupon is insufficient to feed the child. The expectation of baby formula manufacturers is that the parent will buy additional quantities of the same brand.

As for Medicare, well, do you recall that Medicare reform bill that our elected representatives passed last year? A key component of the bill denied the federal government the power to negotiate drug prices with big pharma. That’s right. Uncle Sucker pays whatever price big pharma sets, unlike hospitals and insurance companies. And these un-free market prices are passed on to elderly consumers when the donut hole kicks in between $2,500 and $5,000.

And here I thought it was conservative to be pro-free market and thus *against* big government’s corporate subsidies for the agri-business conglomerates.

The second article (testimony) does not limit itself to the USDA. It claims 75 billion dollars in corporate welfare. Also note this testimony is 8 years old.

The fourth link is a more updated study on broad corporate welfare which puts the number at 92 billion, though the article admits it’s terms were broad, and the Department of Commerce places the number around 57 billion.

Links 3 and 5 are specifically about agricultural welfare, and both support article 1 that only 35 billion is being spent on farm subsidies (i.e. Corporate welfare)

The total budget for the USDA is 94 billion dollars.

The only way I could get to 127 billion was by adding the 35 billion in farm subsidies to the 92 billion in “corporate welfare.” I may be mistaken, but according to the article 2 and 4, didn’t they already include farm subsidies as part of corporate welfare (i.e. your counting the 35 billion twice)?

That being said, on the right side of your comparison chart, you have relabeled the USDA’s budget for FOOD SUBSIDIES as HUMAN WELFARE, and then you compare that to ALL CORPORATE WELFARE (government subsidies to techology companies, transportation businesses, etc.), not just the agricultural end. Isn’t that a bit like comparing apples to oranges? If you just look at agriculture, we’re actually spending less on farm subsidies (CORPORATE) than we are on food subsidies (HUMAN). If you are comparing all of corporate welfare to all of human welfare, it might be fair to include such things as Medicare and Social Security, which of course would dwarf the Corporate welfare. Although, the way Medicare is run these days, maybe it doesn’t deserve to be included as human welfare.

All that being said, I agree with you and your articles. Corporate Welfare is a direct contradiction to a free market economy. The client is no longer the consumer, the client is the government. And the product isn’t determined by the need of the public but by the skill of the grant writer. Keep up the good fight!