The Economist - UK (2022-04-09)

34 UnitedStates TheEconomistApril9th 2022

InrecentyearspoliticiansinWashing­

ton,dc, havefunnelledmoneytofarmers

atanastonishingrate.In 2020 farmersre­

ceivedthreetimesthenormallevelofsub­

sidies,saysVincentSmith,aneconomist

atMontanaStateUniversity,thankstopay­

ments related to covid and to Donald

Trump’stradewars, whichwentoutside

the normal system of farm subsidies,

passedinfarmbillsbyCongresseveryfive

years.Totalpayments,mostto200,000or

solargefarmers,amountedto$49bn(in

2022 dollars)or0.2%ofgdp(seeleft­hand

chart).Bycomparison,spendingonfood

stamps, whicharealso administered by

theusdaandgoto40mpeople,was$87bn.

Yetdespiteallthiscash,ruralAmerica

isindeepdecline(seeright­handchart).

Accordingtothe 2020 census,two­thirds

ofruralcountieslostpopulationfrom 2010

to2020,andthetotalpopulationofrural

Americafellforthefirsttimeinhistory.

Thecountiesthatgrewweremostlynot

farmingonesbutprettyplaceswherepeo­

plego to retire, near mountainsor the

ocean,orthosewithlotsofoil.Themid­

westernareaswhichgrowmostofAmeri­

ca’s food are shrinking fastest. Pierce

County,whereMrVolk’sfarmis,lost8%of

itspeople,evenasNorthDakotancounties

fartherwest,wheretherehasbeena shale­

oilboomfor 15 years,grewprodigiously.

Fuellingfolly

ThereasonwhyisvisibleinMrVolk’sbarn.

Asfarmingbecomesmoreprofitable,sodo

thegainsfrommechanisation.Today,just

6%ofjobsinruralareasaredirectlylinked

tofarming,pointsoutAnneSchechinger,

anagriculturaleconomistfortheEnviron­

mentalWorkingGroup,aresearch ngo.

Mostfarms,evensmallones,“arehighly

capitalisedagribusinessesgrowingoneor

twocommoditycropsandemployingvery

fewpeople”,shesays.MrVolksayshisfarm

isaboutassmallascanbecompetitively

run,tocoverthecostsofthehardware.Ov­

erthedecades,ithasgraduallygrownbig­

gerasneighbourshaveretiredandsplit

theirlandupamongheirs—manyofwhom

endupsellingtheirbittoMrVolk.

Subsidies,largelyintheformofcropin­

surance, helptoensure thefoodsupply

continues,andprotectfarmersfromgoing

bustduringdownturns.Buttheyalsode­

terminewhatAmericafarms—incentivis­

ingfarmerstogrowvastamountsofsoya­

beansandcorn,aswellaswheat,whichis

mostlyexported.Corn(maize)isboosted

notonlybydirectsubsidiesbutalsobythe

RenewableFuelStandard,whichforcesre­

finerstoblendethanolmadefromcornin­

topetrol,inturnpushingupthevalueof

thecrop. Such cropsare bestgrown on

large,mechanisedfarms.Freshfruitand

vegetables,whichAmericansoughttoeat

moreof,aremoreexpensivetogrow,and

requiremorelabour,butfarmersreceive

almostnosubsidiesforthem.

Eveniffarmersaregettingwealthier,

thecommunitiestheyliveinarenot.Mr

Volk saysthatwhenhewentto school,

therewere 40 childrenonhisschoolbus.

Todayhisyoungest songoesonthebus

withfewerthantenclassmates.Hiseldest

sonislikelytotakeoverthefarm,butfu­

turechildrenmayhavetogotoa boarding

school.Itishardertofindpeopletoserve

asvoluntaryofficialsontheschoolboard

andcountygovernment.Manyyoungpeo­

pleendupmovingtoplaceswherethejob

opportunitiesaremoreexciting,if notnec­

essarilymoreprofitable.Overhalfofthe

churchesthatusedtoservethecommuni­

tyhaveclosed.“Itshrinksthecommunity,”

MrVolksays.

Congressisbeginningtoconsultonits

nextfarmbill,whichisduetopassnext

year.Evenwithpricesashighastheyare,

most observers expectsubsidies to stay

steadyorevengrow.Farmershavebeen

pushingforpaymentstoencouragethem

toreduceCO 2 emissions,saysMrSmith.

“AndasfarasI know,everymajorlobbying

groupendorsedthatnotion,preferablyat

verysubstantiallevels.”Helpingoutfarm­

ersispoliticallypopular,notleastbecause

ruralcommunitiesareover­representedin

Congress.Yetthesubsidiesmayinfactbe

sustainingthedeclineofruralAmerica.n

Rural bliss and blight

United States

Sources:DepartmentofAgriculture;CarseySchoolofPublicPolicy,UniversityofNewHampshire *Forecast †Estimate

Farmsubsidies

50

40

30

20

10

0

2000 2220151005

$bn, 2022 prices*

†*

50

40

30

20

10

0

%ofnetfarmincome

Annual average population change, %

0

Urban Rural

2000-0

Urban Rural

200-20

1.00

0.50

0.75

0.25

-0.25

To t a l Natural increase Net migration

TheSupremeCourt

Confirmation bias

T

he constitutiondirects the Senate to

offer  presidents  “advice  and  consent”

on  their  Supreme  Court  nominees.  Alex­

ander  Hamilton  imagined  that  inter­

branch co­operation would be a “source of

stability”. The Senate would put “an excel­

lent  check”  on  presidents  and  thwart  the

appointment of “unfit characters”.

Ketanji  Brown  Jackson,  President  Joe

Biden’s  pick  to  succeed  Justice  Stephen

Breyer, who is retiring this summer, is on

the brink of narrowly winning Senate con­

firmation. She will be the fourth person of

colour  and  the  first  black  woman  to  serve

on  the  court.  But  Hamilton  might  have

been  puzzled  had  he  witnessed  the  three­

week process leading to this moment.

Few of the 47 Republicans vowing to op­

pose  Ms  Jackson’s  nomination  professed

concerns  about  her  character  or  her  fit­

ness. She won near­universal praise for her

intellect  and  qualifications:  two  Harvard

degrees  and  three  judicial  clerkships,  in­

cluding  to  Justice  Breyer;  two  federal

judgeships; and service as a federal public

defender. Senators of both parties compli­

mented her on her poise and charm.

For Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski,

Republicans  who  supported  Ms  Jackson’s

ascent last June to the court of appeals for

the  District  of  Columbia  circuit,  her  ap­

pearance before the Senate Judiciary Com­

mittee in March was strong enough to win

their  votes  again.  Senator  Mitt  Romney,

who  opposed  Ms  Jackson  last  year  but

switched his vote, called her a “well­quali­

fied  jurist  and  a  person  of  honour”.  Ms

Murkowski lamented “the corrosive politi­

cisation of the review process”.

Republican  criticism  of  Ms  Jackson

ranged  from  routine  to  caustic.  Senator

Thom  Tillis  said  he  worried  the  nominee

would  “legislate  from  the  bench”,  a  senti­

ment  repeated  by  many  Republicans  de­

spite Ms Jackson’s vow to “stay in my lane”

and  avoid  intruding  on  the  duties  of  the

legislative branch. Other charges included

her  refusal  to  answer  questions  about

whether more seats should be added to the

Supreme  Court  (a  matter  that  rests  in  the

hands of Congress, not the justices). 

A  few  Republicans  aimed  to  paint  Ms

Jackson  as  soft  on  crime  by  focusing  on

sentences she gave to people convicted of

child­pornography  offences  as  a  district­

court  judge.  Several  conservative  com­

mentators  dismissed  these  claims;  one

called them “meritless to the point of dem­

N EW YORK

Ketanji Brown Jackson has the votes to

become America’s 116th justice