Kevin Drum has the quote of the day from Sen Tom Harkin about why he can't kill the farm bill's direct payments to farmers:
"I don't have the votes. People love free money."
On a related note: if there are any economists or food experts reading this who can explain the sudden spike in foods prices and the shortages much of the world is experiencing, please drop me a line. I understand the basic structural factors that have led to the increase: growing demand from China, agricultural land being used to grow corn for ethanol, but I don't quite feel like that explains the suddenness with which prices have spiked.
Chris Hayes
Kevin Drum has the quote of the day from Sen Tom Harkin about why he can’t kill the farm bill’s direct payments to farmers:
“I don’t have the votes. People love free money.”
On a related note: if there are any economists or food experts reading this who can explain the sudden spike in foods prices and the shortages much of the world is experiencing, please drop me a line. I understand the basic structural factors that have led to the increase: growing demand from China, agricultural land being used to grow corn for ethanol, but I don’t quite feel like that explains the suddenness with which prices have spiked.
Chris HayesTwitterChris Hayes is the Editor-at-Large of The Nation and host of “All In with Chris Hayes” on MSNBC.