AB had a post on Congressman Steve King, an advocate of austerity and shut down yet received $9.17 billion in subsidies 1995-2012 for his district without offering cut backs for his district to share the sacrifices needed for austerity.
Brad DeLong points us to another stunning set of subsidies, this example for Congressman Tim Huelskamp:
Halloween on the Prairie: Congressman Tim Huelskamp Is the Most Frightening Thing I Will See All Day — Congressman Tim Huelskamp: “I’m from a district that pretty much ignores Washington. If you say government is going to shut down, they say, ‘OK, which part can we shut down?’” Farm subsidies! Shut down farm subsidies! Move farm subsidies from the “mandatory entitlements” to the “discretionary appropriations” side of the budget, and Congressman Huelskamp would switch his attachment to government shutdowns with the force of twenty mules! In an average year, Congressman Huelskamp’s First District collects roughly $1.5 billion in farm commodity and crop instance subsidies. There are about 20,000 farmers in the First District. You do the math: That’s $75,000/year per farmer in the district.
(ht reader rjs)