Business as usual

World recession? People being thrown out of jobs? House foreclosures? An imploding financial system? No worries - if you're a subsidised US farmer:

the United States budget for 2011 announced this February proposed to cut back spending by reducing agricultural subsidies by US$ 10 billion over ten years. It suggested that subsidies only be granted to farmers earning under US$ 250,000 a year, down from a current cap of US $500,000 a year, and cutting aid to crop insurance companies. According to Reuters, this proposal was rejected on 3 March by the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, who stated that changes to farm policies should wait until the next farm law is negotiated in 2012. Will budget deficits provide leverage for farm subsidy reform?, 'Global Subsidies Initiative'