Word: reformations
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...keep funneling money to farmers and pseudo farmers through a bewildering array of loans, price supports, subsidized insurance, disaster aid and money-for-nothing handouts that arrive when times are tough--or not tough. "What a joke," grumbles Congressman Ron Kind, a Wisconsin Democrat who led a failed bipartisan reform effort in the House. "You're eligible as long as you're breathing." Actually, that's not quite true. Since the vast majority of the cash goes to five row crops--corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton and rice--more than 60% of our farmers receive no subsidies. And a recent Government...
This summer an unprecedented coalition, running the gamut of the advocacy world from rural development to health to business to the environment, emerged to help Kind and Republican Jeff Flake of Arizona try to shake up the system. Editorials thundered for reform, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco--the city of organic kale and "meat is murder"--vowed to deliver it. The moment seemed ripe for Democrats to challenge the status quo. Agribusiness was steering two-thirds of its campaign donations to Republicans, and just 19 of the 435 congressional districts were vacuuming up half of all subsidies...
...right. Pelosi sided with the American Farm Bureau, the National Farmers Union and the Big Five commodity lobbies, spearheading a bill she called "a first step toward reform," an oblique way of saying it isn't reform at all. The Big Five would still hog the subsidies, while the influential sugar industry would retain its lucrative price supports. The one major "reform" was that farm families earning at least $2 million a year would supposedly be ineligible for subsidies, assuming none of them knew decent accountants...
...story of this butt-kicking is a quin-tessential Washington tale, illustrating how a single special interest with a single-minded devotion to a cause can trump a broad coalition and the national interest. The Senate is considering a similar bill, and a reform effort led by Republican Richard Lugar of Indiana seems likely to meet a similar fate. The Bush Administration has made noises about a veto; Kind says the President, famously reluctant to admit mistakes, confided in a private chat that he regrets signing the lavish 2002 bill. But it's never wise to bet against the farm...
...Butler ’10 said she changed two of her classes at the beginning of the semester because of the advice of her tutor, who was also helpful in helping pick a concentration, she said. Long criticized by students, Harvard’s advising system has seen some reform in recent years. College officials said they will continue to adjust the program as it becomes clear which aspects work best and which can be improved. To that end, the Advising Programs Office is collaborating with a student advisory panel, the FAS Standing Committee on Advising and Counseling...