As the USDA Risk Management Agency struggles to renegotiate a new Standard Reinsurance Agreement with Private Crop Insurers. Why isn’t Agriculture Secretary Vilsack directing USDA-RMA officials and local County FSA employees to put a true government alternative on the table to address the runaway costs of Federal Crop Insurance.
For without a true alternative on the table, the private insurers have the upper hand in retaining their Insurance Gravy Train. Where American Taxpayers bare the risk and private insurer’s profit, as pointed out in the taxpayer funded Milliman report to USDA. Plus USDA data shows the taxpayer cost for Crop Insurance for the 2007 crop at $3.8 billion and jumping to $7.7 billion for the 2008 crop. Costing taxpayers more than the traditional farm subsidy checks sent for the 2008 crop. All this under a period of good yields and near record prices for major crops. But it’s still not news worthy to the national press, even while the health care and deficit debate rages over costs. This lucrative Federal program quietly protects Farmers enjoying the best of times without a national examination of them or their agents.
What taxpayers and Congress fail to understand, is that local county Farm Service Centers have the data and factual relationships with farmers, to deliver the program at a fraction of the cost of private insurers. Yet where are the congressional budget hawks to hold an independent public hearing, to consider this real government option for major cost saving for today’s taxpayers?
The missing fact of life for local USDA office sites and FSA employee’s is the need to retain their local location and jobs. As President Obama and Congress are forced to bring spending cuts inline to address the Federal deficit. So why aren’t these local FSA employee’s addressing the economic environment their in. Just as Post office cuts take place both nationally and in rural areas which will surely move into their offices if they don’t become pro-active. For today’s financial reality shows Farmers no longer need the historic direct payments subsidies that were the basis for these offices. Yet today our financially strong Farmers only need a sound commodity loan program to manage crop inventories to address fair market pricing! So administrating Crop Insurance with much lower costs can be the FSA offices 2010 innovation!
For the present buffet of Federal Crop Insurance options available to America’s Farmer’s is an outrage. For in 2010 the premium subsidies are paying as much as 81% of the cost of insurance for millionaire Farmers, with no subsidy limit’s and many options for insurance driven profits! All as 47 million needy Americans go without health insurance! So where’s the Justice President Obama, Secretary Vilsack and members of Congress?
Alan Roebke (REB-key) Alexandria Minnesota