Thursday, October 14, 2010

Peanuts?

I bought a bag of those good Portales Valencia peanuts the other day at La Montanita Coop.  There is nothing like them.  Now, they are really harvesting a good crop for this year. These peanuts are grown by mostly republican farmers in Roosevelt County.  Those are the guys who mostly disfavor healthcare for all, environmental regulation, unemployment checks and such.  Oh, but that doesn't count the over $32,000,000 in subsidies they have received from the taxpayers in the last 15 years.  But damn, they know how to grow a great New Mexico Peanut and they had better do so.  We get to pay for them twice.  Although their subsidies are falling it still bothers me.

Oh, one more thing on that Land Commissioner race.  Blogger Heath Haussamen has an interesting post today on that GOP/oil industry funded candidate Matt Rush.  Rush apparently is a strong fundamentalist christian who has said "christians have to take the fight to the enemy."  If that is so I would wonder if any atheists need apply for grazing, business, commercial or other leases?  Just asking.  That is all.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

C'mon Jim. The Rail Runner cost $450 million and it only took a couple of years to build. But I guess comparing subsidies is like comparing oranges to oranges. They're bad policy any way you look at them.

Anonymous said...

public transit is a government service that is basic in nature. handouts to peanut farmers may not be.

Anonymous said...

They emerge from the womb index finger first, and for the rest of their lives it's pointing at something else... Didn't scientists isolate the gene that makes it impossible for Republicans to ever take responsibility for anything?

Anonymous said...

I will counter any RailRunner objection with the fact that no car manufacturer, oil company or rubber company ever built an inch of local, state or federal highway/road/street, yet those businesses were major beneficiaries of all the roads ever built.
Direct subsidies to private businesses should be ended, public works are something entirely different.