February 24, 2004

Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, trying to decide what is the greatest hypocrisy in politics is a hard job, but I believe that by sheer dollar volume the support of many who call themselves free market conservatives for the leading aspects of America's agricultural policy qualifies for the prize.

Few areas in public policy in this country are as heavily subsidized by the taxpayers, rigged against consumers, blatantly unfair to poor people in other parts of the world, and contemptuous of the whole notion of competition and free enterprise as American agriculture policy in various of its aspects.

I am frequently puzzled to hear many who declaim their staunch allegiance to free trade, low taxes, no government intervention in the economy, the free market, and unmitigated competition make an implicit exception when the subject is corn, cotton, wheat, peanuts, sugar, or other commodities. Apparently, there are people who believe that the works of Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich Hayek contain an invisible footnote that says that none of this applies to agriculture.