> Peter, Are we calling crop insurance subsidies now? Otherwise well illustrated. 

Call it what you will, it's money out of my pocket that goes to a few beekeepers. The most ridiculous part is that they collected for "CCD" on the basis of "the bees were gone." No diagnostic testing was done, because there is no diagnostic test for "CCD." To his credit, Prof. Calderone refused to certify CCD hives because "nobody knows what it is."

> Unlimited crop insurance subsidies now cost the taxpayer $9 billion a year and overwhelmingly flow to the largest and most successful farm businesses. Unlike other farm subsidies, crop insurance subsidies are not subject to means testing or payment limits and farmers are not required to adopt basic environmental protections in exchange for premium support from the taxpayer. 

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