Well-intentioned laws used for pork

Regarding John Stossel's Monday column on the reality of the mortgage crisis: The problem is not "bail outs."

The problem is the twisting and tweeking of well-intentioned laws by pork barrelers and ear markers often motivated by various industry or commodity lobbyists.

As a result, bailouts are often doled out to those who least them. Most recently a Wall Street brokerage -- previously, no doubt, a believer in free trade and no government interference -- was saved from ruin by another larger brokerage firm with the assistance of taxpayer money.

Such government interference is tolerated at the multi-million dollar level if the money flows in the right direction.

Other much more massively expensive relief for the rich is exemplified by government farm subsidies.

These were well-intentioned and originally intended for family farms, a now endangered species.

Loopholes and blatantly unjust but legal applications of subsidy legislation has led to absurd situations -- large payments to corporate farms or wealthy non-farmers.

For example, rice subsidies have practically extinguished rice production in Texas where annual payment for not growing rice has created cash cows of vacant land called "cowboy starter kits."

Horse farmers in Texas cashed in on money triggered legally by a declaration of emergency declared by Bush to facilitate collecting the wreckage of the space shuttle Columbia dropped there.

No horse was injured nor property damaged, but one rancher (who declared he would be better off if the government left him alone) got $10,000 by just filling out a form.

Many such programs are up for renewal in Congress now. Call, write, e-mail your representative and senator voicing your concern about abuses of subsidy rules and ask what he or she plans to do and what he or she voted for and why.

You or the media might even ask the three senators now on the presidential campaign trail. After we get their bowling averages

Or we can just wait for rice to be declared a crisis as it moves to $4 a pound.

Martin McGowan

Elk Grove Village