Madness

The 2002 reforms to the CAP mean that farmers now receive subsidies based on the historical value of the land and crops produced. This means that farmers who have retired or moved abroad since 2002 can still claim subsidies – often up to tens of thousands of pounds - provided they rent a hectare of land and meet the European definition of a “farmer” at the time of transfer. Source

It's not just the insanity, it's the persistence of it over the decades that makes one despair. Climate change, nuclear proliferation, genetic engineering mistakes ... what hope is there that we can tackle any of our serious problems if we cannot even stop corrupt, stupid and entirely self-inflicted disasters such as the Common Agricultural Policy, even after decades of solid evidence about its catastrophic economic, social and environmental effects?