By Will Breazeale – Candidate for Congress
Wilmington, NC – Order iced tea in Southeastern North Carolina and the waitress will expect you want it “sweet” – with lots of sugar, that is the way many people take it here. Democrat Congressman Mike McIntyre (NC-7) is a fan of sugar as well, to the tune of some $30,000 just since last April. That is how much “Big Sugar” contributed to his campaign in the past year.
According to the NC Dept. of Agriculture web site, sugar is not an NC grown crop or product. These donors to McIntyre’s campaign are predominately from Florida. What is the connection? Why does “Big Sugar” care if McIntyre has enough money to run for re-election?
McIntyre sits on the Agriculture Committee – where the price guarantees for sugar producers originate. H.R 2419 is the reauthorization bill that includes the “sweet deal” for Big Sugar. A very sweet deal! Under this ongoing deal – which H.R.2419 would extend until at least 2012 – the sugar producers get a guarantee from Uncle Sam that if they cannot sell their sugar on the free market for the guaranteed price, Uncle will buy it from them at that price. Besides that, Uncle Sam slaps a tariff on imported sugar to further support the price.
The bill also provides for Uncle Sam to buy sugar at the artificially inflated prices from the producers and then sell it at deep discount to the companies that produce ethanol! What a great idea from McIntyre’s Democrat controlled Congress. Funnel taxpayer’s cash to sugar producers and then sell the sugar at a loss! No wonder this country is Trillions of dollars in debt and the dollar is dropping in value!
By contributing to McIntyre’s campaign “Big Sugar” expected his favorable vote on the bill. They got it.
What did “Big Sugar” get for their money? Not only did McIntyre vote for the whole bill containing the extension and revamping of the sugar program – which he could claim was a vote for other “important” sections of the bill - he voted against an amendment that would have stripped just the sugar program from the bill. (Roll call 751)
Why do you care? Well, the price of Sweet Tea and all other products using sugar are higher because the price of sugar is artificially high. Other products manufacturers move out of the USA so they can buy sugar cheaper.
Sugar is so inexpensive in other countries – like Brazil – that they use it, rather than corn, to make ethanol for fuel. The Government Accountability Office estimates that the sugar program costs US consumers as much as $2 billion a year in higher food prices. Add to that the jobs lost, the taxpayer’s costs and the $30,000 to McIntyre is a drop in the bucket!
Wilmington, NC – Order iced tea in Southeastern North Carolina and the waitress will expect you want it “sweet” – with lots of sugar, that is the way many people take it here. Democrat Congressman Mike McIntyre (NC-7) is a fan of sugar as well, to the tune of some $30,000 just since last April. That is how much “Big Sugar” contributed to his campaign in the past year.
According to the NC Dept. of Agriculture web site, sugar is not an NC grown crop or product. These donors to McIntyre’s campaign are predominately from Florida. What is the connection? Why does “Big Sugar” care if McIntyre has enough money to run for re-election?
McIntyre sits on the Agriculture Committee – where the price guarantees for sugar producers originate. H.R 2419 is the reauthorization bill that includes the “sweet deal” for Big Sugar. A very sweet deal! Under this ongoing deal – which H.R.2419 would extend until at least 2012 – the sugar producers get a guarantee from Uncle Sam that if they cannot sell their sugar on the free market for the guaranteed price, Uncle will buy it from them at that price. Besides that, Uncle Sam slaps a tariff on imported sugar to further support the price.
The bill also provides for Uncle Sam to buy sugar at the artificially inflated prices from the producers and then sell it at deep discount to the companies that produce ethanol! What a great idea from McIntyre’s Democrat controlled Congress. Funnel taxpayer’s cash to sugar producers and then sell the sugar at a loss! No wonder this country is Trillions of dollars in debt and the dollar is dropping in value!
By contributing to McIntyre’s campaign “Big Sugar” expected his favorable vote on the bill. They got it.
What did “Big Sugar” get for their money? Not only did McIntyre vote for the whole bill containing the extension and revamping of the sugar program – which he could claim was a vote for other “important” sections of the bill - he voted against an amendment that would have stripped just the sugar program from the bill. (Roll call 751)
Why do you care? Well, the price of Sweet Tea and all other products using sugar are higher because the price of sugar is artificially high. Other products manufacturers move out of the USA so they can buy sugar cheaper.
Sugar is so inexpensive in other countries – like Brazil – that they use it, rather than corn, to make ethanol for fuel. The Government Accountability Office estimates that the sugar program costs US consumers as much as $2 billion a year in higher food prices. Add to that the jobs lost, the taxpayer’s costs and the $30,000 to McIntyre is a drop in the bucket!
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