Questions for Scott Sanders

1.  I really identified with you when you wrote about suburban America and its lack of a sense of "place."  What can we do to achieve that sense in our current economic model in which big box retail and chain stores and restaurants dominate the suburban makeup?

2.  You write beautifully, but sometimes I get frustrated when you talk about your schemes to bring America back to its local roots because many of your ideas seem impractical.  I think a lot of people would paint you as a radical (I do not) and would most likely write you off without hearing your point of view.  How do we get the average American to listen?

3.  What can the average college student do to make their lives and towns more sustainable?

4.  Localism and new urbanism are great schemes for reducing greenhouse gases and making our lives more sustainable, but they are seemingly more expensive than cheap alternatives (Walmart and McDonalds) and often work best in wealthy, homogeneous communities (Portland and Seattle).  What will the less fortunate do as the era of cheap oil comes to an end?

GOP Farm Rhetoric: The Dichotomy of Political Action and Speech

"Whenever someone uses a euphemism, they are either cowardly or lying."

Mark and I are authoring a joint paper concerning the differences and similarities between what politicians say to small farmers and the actions they take through legislation.  There is usually a stark contrast between the two.  Politicians voice support for small farms, yet large industrial farms are heavily subsidized.  We want to explain this schism between rhetoric and action with our paper.  Our thesis is:

While politicians claim to support small farms, they do great harm to small farms by heavily and disproportionately subsidizing industrial farming.

Question:  Why do politicians blatantly mislead farmers and the general public about farming policy they support?  A politician that misleads is certainly not unheard of, but why don't politicians follow through with their rhetoric?  In 2008 Obama voiced his support for the Farm Bill, formally known as the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008.  Obama, a progressive, supported this bill which dramatically increased funding for organic specialty crops from small farms.  It raised subsidies from 100 million dollars to 2.8 billion dollars.  However, the bill also raised subsidies for industrial farming to 290 billion.  This bill, which was dressed up in a sustainable and "green" sounding name, effectually was a sellout to the industrial agriculture paradigm.

This is but a sampling of the dichotomy between speech and action concerning agricultural policy.  If progressives are actively backing legislation that harms small farms, imagine the impetus that drives conservatives, who are often staunch allies of industry and large corporations.  Mark and I plan on giving several similar examples to this in our paper from politicians across the scale.

We will attempt to explain this dichotomy by exploring several factors that influence policymaking, including campaign contributions from special interests, the differences in political will and power between the industrial farm lobby and small farms, and political party ideology concerning farm subsidies.

We plan on using the internet to explore these factors by using the internet and other resources.  We also want to visit a local organic farm and talk to the owners about what they have heard from politicians and the policies these politicians have instituted or supported.

Outline:

I. Introduction

• Thesis:  While politicians claim to support small farms, they do great harm to small farms by heavily and disproportionately subsidizing industrial farming.
• Explanation of subsidy from economic theory 
• Effects on supply and demand
• Deadweight loss

II. Historical Preface of agricultural subsidy

• Nixon and farm subsidies
• Regan and farm subsidies

III. Current state of agricultural policy

• Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008
• Rhetoric of the 2008 and 2010 elections

IV. Explanation of the policy schism 

• Pressure from special interest
• Campaign donations
• Political power play 
• Subsidizing the "American Dream" via industrial agricultural subsidy
• Increased demand leads to a shift in the supply curve
• Policy implications for local organic farming

V. Conclusion

Sustainability Questions

Jacqui Bauer:

• What can be done on a local level to further a sustainable agenda?
• What effect do local communities that push a sustainability agenda have on state and federal policy?
• How does Bloomington compare to the rest of the state in terms of environmentally-friendly policy formulation and implementation?

Emilie Rex:

• What benefits are earned by universities that pursue and implement sustainable policy?
• What is your opinion on the sustainability report cards and rating systems such as the College Sustainability Report Card?  Are they objective and constructive?
• What can students do to make IU a greener campus?