The Wall Street Journal reported late last week that a group of Senators were working to initiate the process of cutting government subsidies for corporate sugar.
The move follows a Wall Street Journal article that the USDA was considering buying 400,000 tons of sugar to boost market prices. The sugar then would be sold to U.S. ethanol producers, likely at a loss of $80 million, according to an economist at the USDA. If market prices stay low, processors who default on government loans would give sugar that was put up for collateral to the USDA. ...
"We're seeing dramatic fluxes in the sugar market because the sugar program is outdated and unfairly benefits a very small group of wealthy sugar producers," Sen. Shaheen said. "The bottom line is that taxpayers shouldn't have to subsidize broken sugar policies, and we need to fix this program once and for all."
Good. Let's phase out the government's role in propping up big sugar, and while we're at it, perhaps ethanol as well? Environmentalists, small government activists, and free traders alike should be working to end this unnecessary corporate welfare.