Opponents of wasteful government spending — particularly the Republicans who call for a slash-and-burn of the federal budget — should turn their attention to the latest reports of farm subsidies going to billionaires.

Last week, numerous media reports indicated that some federal farm subsidies have found their way into the pockets of the ultra-wealthy, rather than the small-scale farmers they’re actually meant to help.

According to a story by The Huffington Post, many of the beneficiaries of these payments aren’t even farmers at all.

One such recipient of subsidies was Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft who is also worth $15.8 billion.

Another was Philip Anschutz, co-founder of Major League Soccer. His net worth is $10 billion, yet his company received more than half a million dollars in subsidies in the last decade.

These payments may seem like a drop in the bucket when compared to the bigger picture of total federal spending, but the fact that billionaires are receiving even one dime in federal aid is absolutely outrageous.

What’s even more perplexing is that so-called “fiscally conservative” Republicans seem to take little issue with these particular subsidies.

Perhaps that’s because — according to the same Huffington Post report — some congressional Republicans are also the beneficiaries of federal farm subsidies.

Once again, the flawed logic behind the right-wing fiscal doctrine rears its ugly head.

According to fiscal conservatives, our government can’t afford to make modest social safety net payments to the poor, but they can afford to shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars to those who need government assistance the least.

America truly has become a land of the rich, by the rich and for the rich.

Why else would billionaire Charles Schwab — founder of the brokerage firm that bears his name — have received more than half a million dollars in rice and other farm subsidies in an eight year period?

Is this really what we’ve become — a nation that punishes those who are the worst off and rewards those who are the best?

It certainly appears that way.

America used to be a land of opportunity where all that was needed to get ahead was a good work ethic or an innovative, entrepreneurial spirit.

Now it’s not so. Our post-industrial capitalist system — one marked by the decline of labor unions and the stagnation of wages for the lower and middle classes — has made that America nothing but a distant memory.

The modern economy is more focused on making money from money by using complex financial instruments, instead of the production of goods.

And this shift has resulted in the decline of the middle class, which has opened up a wealth gap that the United States hasn’t seen for nearly a century.

It’s about time we change the current rules of the game — ones that overwhelmingly favor the ultra-rich — by voting out politicians who reinforce the structure of the current system and replacing them with individuals who understand that a stronger America is one in which the middle class is thriving as days past.

You see, these wasteful farm subsidies aren’t the only problem; they’re merely a symptom of a much larger disease plaguing this great nation.

Raising taxes on and ending loopholes and special interests for the wealthy isn’t “punishing success,” as many critics have suggested.

No, as U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has pointed out, ensuring the ultra-rich pay their fair share merely ensures they “pay it forward” for the next generation to have success.

It’s time to change the way we do things, and ending federal farm subsidies for very wealthy Americans would be a step in the right direction.

David Swenton is a senior political science and writing and rhetoric major. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at daswento@syr.edu or followed on Twitter at @DavidSwenton.

Published on November 13, 2013 at 1:39 am