Tag Archives | Boondoggle

JPB-FFF-artwork-peanut-train-crash-peanut-1029804_1280

FFF: The Great Goober Train Wreck

Future of Freedom Foundation The Great Goober Train Wreck of 2016 by James Bovard The history of federal peanut policy is the perfect antidote to anyone who still believes that Congress could competently manage a lemonade stand. Federal spending for peanut subsidies will have risen eightfold between last year and next year — reaching almost […]

Continue Reading
wrecking ball

Another Chicago Section 8 Boondoggle?

Glenn Minnis, a reporter with Chicago City Wire, interviewed me earlier this week on a proposed Section 8 housing project in Chicago. Here’s the article the published today: Chicago City Wire – Ald. Arena’s Section 8 development means more crime, lower property values in Jefferson Park, says expert Crime Glenn Minnis | Mar 17, 2017 […]

Continue Reading

Meddling to Spread Democracy is Doing God’s Work

Journalist Martin Sieff asked my views yesterday about US democracy promotion efforts such as the National Endowment for Democracy. I said that the interventions are “justified because ‘God wants democracy to win.’ The US government is simply doing God’s work — or doing what God would do if he knew as much as US government […]

Continue Reading

MP3 of My Thumping Farm Subsidies on MetroFarm Radio

Michael Olson, the host of MetroFarm.com, and I had fun today thumping farm subsidies on his radio show this morning.  He seemed perhaps nonplussed at my call in the final minutes to abolish all subsidies and to strip power from politicians across the board. But what the heck – at least Brazilian cotton farmers will […]

Continue Reading

Appearing on FoodChain Radio at Noon Today

I will be joining Michael Olson of MetroFarm.com on his FoodChain radio show today at noon.  The program is syndicated nationwide –  details on local airings are in his release reposted here.    Should be lots of fun – except for USDA bureaucrats. Food Chain Radio Show #1087 Michael Olson, Author & Urban Farming Agriculturalist Drain the […]

Continue Reading

Wall St. Journal: Living Off the Fat of Washington

Wall Street Journal, December 12, 2016 Living Off the Fat of Washington If Trump is going to ‘drain the swamp,’ he might start with wasteful ag subsidies. By James Bovard President-elect Donald Trump’s vow to “drain the swamp” in Washington could begin with the Agriculture Department. Federal aid to farmers is forecast by the Congressional […]

Continue Reading
barrons photo for jpb ag story august 2016 ON-BS319_DeereT_M_20160603105456

Barron’s: Obama’s Farm Fiasco

Barron’s, August 20, 2016 Farmers Should Farm for a Living by James Bovard And politicians should stop dishing out the pork. The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts that spending for federal farm-commodity programs will increase eightfold from 2015 to 2017. Since the 1930s, Congress has rarely missed a chance to shower rural America with more […]

Continue Reading