Your Tax Dollars for Public Welfare

In 2004, the Census Bureau reported that there were 14,229 children in Washington and Benton Counties under the age of 18 living below the poverty level. They are among the 24 million Americans eligible for food stamps providing average benefits of less than $1 per meal. About 80 percent of the benefits go to low-income families with children, and the rest go to elderly or disabled people. Food stamp funding is a small part of the budget of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Also tucked in the USDA Farm Bill is corporate welfare for millionaires, provided from your federal tax dollars. You might be surprised by who is suckling on the federal teat and getting your tax dollars in Northwest Arkansas. Totaling benefits received or disbursed from 2003-2005, Sara Nann Lindsey received $360,263 and John David Lindsey received $360,259. Relatives listing an address in St. Francis County included James Edgar Lindsey $542,863; James Elmer Lindsey $479,525; Elmer B Lindsey $471,423; and James Earl Lindsey $360,348. That's more than $2.57 million for these six people.

There are 208 people or corporations in Bella Vista slopping at the same trough, the largest for 2003-2005 being $164,281 to Gracy Creek Farms. Other Northwest Arkansas folks living large on USDA benefits in that same time period include: Joseph Guziewicz, Rogers, $166,807; Richard Ray Trammel Trust, Rogers, $139,268; Steve Butler Lost Acres, Siloam Springs, $361,725; Grace A. Haberman and Chief Trading Co LLC, Bentonville, $107,591 each; and Richard Harris, Jr., Springdale, $176,854.

There are many more local business folks on the federal dole, but I doubt you will read about that in the local chain newspapers owned by their friends. If you want to know who’s getting federal welfare, you can look it up and search by name, zip code, or city right here. And if you want to bitch about the poor and disabled getting food stamps, hold off until you’re scolded these welfare queens and kings who pocket much more of your tax dollars.

Congress ladled out $80 billion over 10 years in the 2002 farm bill -- of which 71% went to farm subsidies and just 9% to increases in food stamps. For any Congressman or Senator, of any party, to choose corporate farm subsidies over hungry children by 71% to 9% is unconscionable, but you could make big money betting against John Boozman or Blanche Lincoln to do the right thing when voting to reauthorize subsides for the rich in the 2007 Farm Bill..