Farm Bill
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
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Last Wednesday on the front page of the Times-Union there was an article titled “Indiana Senators Consider ‘Right-To-Farm’ Bill,” however, I believe a better caption would have been “Indiana Senators Consider ‘Right-To-Pollute’ Bill.” Basically, what this bill is trying to do is make it difficult for people to sue these profiteers for destroying their environment, consequently it is called a “Right To Farm Bill.”
I have lived in the country most of my life and I do not see how you can call these hog factories farming. It is not farming in any sense that I know of. It is just mind boggling. If these profiteers want to mass produce hogs and waste they should be out in the middle of nowhere, with no neighbors for miles. What gives these people the right to pollute other people’s environments?
Is it because they do it in the name of farming? I would say there must be a lot of special interest groups, or lobbyists, in state and federal governments who profit dearly off these massive hog factories which, consequently put out millions of gallons of toxic waste into our atmosphere and ground waters.
In essence, some years back there was a large hog factory (confined feeding operation) constructed approximately 3/4 of a mile west of me. I have lived in the country on this piece of land most of my adult life – long before any hog factories, or confined feeding operations. I used to jog and ride my bicycle around that country block, however, not anymore, because the disgusting odor is so bad at times I can not hold my breath long enough to ride by it, therefore I have to go another route, plus at certain times the stench even inundates my home (living environment) and I live 3/4 of a mile away.
What gives any profiteer the right to pollute the environment of others for their own profit? There is defiantly a cost I am paying for the spill-over effects of these profiteers. In economics there is a concept called externalities, which are the costs of the spillover effects of a business that influences the well-being of non-consenting parties. When an activity such as these hog factories imposes external cost on others environment the result is beyond the economically-efficient level.
Ultimately, you have a for-profit hog industry which has externalities that are reducing the well-being of the citizens around them and our Senators want to give them “The-Right-To-Pollute.”
When property rights are poorly enforced, the actions of these hog factories spill over onto others and therefore affect their well-being without their consent. These spillover effects impose a cost on the people involved and if these hog factories do not have to pay the cost of these spillover effects – they are not running an economically efficient business.
Ultimately, our Senators are wanting to give these hog factories the “Right-To-Pollute” without having to pay for the cost to others.
Bennie Hively
Warsaw, via e-mail[[In-content Ad]]
Last Wednesday on the front page of the Times-Union there was an article titled “Indiana Senators Consider ‘Right-To-Farm’ Bill,” however, I believe a better caption would have been “Indiana Senators Consider ‘Right-To-Pollute’ Bill.” Basically, what this bill is trying to do is make it difficult for people to sue these profiteers for destroying their environment, consequently it is called a “Right To Farm Bill.”
I have lived in the country most of my life and I do not see how you can call these hog factories farming. It is not farming in any sense that I know of. It is just mind boggling. If these profiteers want to mass produce hogs and waste they should be out in the middle of nowhere, with no neighbors for miles. What gives these people the right to pollute other people’s environments?
Is it because they do it in the name of farming? I would say there must be a lot of special interest groups, or lobbyists, in state and federal governments who profit dearly off these massive hog factories which, consequently put out millions of gallons of toxic waste into our atmosphere and ground waters.
In essence, some years back there was a large hog factory (confined feeding operation) constructed approximately 3/4 of a mile west of me. I have lived in the country on this piece of land most of my adult life – long before any hog factories, or confined feeding operations. I used to jog and ride my bicycle around that country block, however, not anymore, because the disgusting odor is so bad at times I can not hold my breath long enough to ride by it, therefore I have to go another route, plus at certain times the stench even inundates my home (living environment) and I live 3/4 of a mile away.
What gives any profiteer the right to pollute the environment of others for their own profit? There is defiantly a cost I am paying for the spill-over effects of these profiteers. In economics there is a concept called externalities, which are the costs of the spillover effects of a business that influences the well-being of non-consenting parties. When an activity such as these hog factories imposes external cost on others environment the result is beyond the economically-efficient level.
Ultimately, you have a for-profit hog industry which has externalities that are reducing the well-being of the citizens around them and our Senators want to give them “The-Right-To-Pollute.”
When property rights are poorly enforced, the actions of these hog factories spill over onto others and therefore affect their well-being without their consent. These spillover effects impose a cost on the people involved and if these hog factories do not have to pay the cost of these spillover effects – they are not running an economically efficient business.
Ultimately, our Senators are wanting to give these hog factories the “Right-To-Pollute” without having to pay for the cost to others.
Bennie Hively
Warsaw, via e-mail[[In-content Ad]]
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