We are facing deficits that can and will cripple our nation if not addressed. Perhaps our new Congress should look at cutting subsidies as part of our efforts to reduce our spending and thus our deficit. As of January, there are now more than 2,000 federal subsidies. Many, if not most, are imprudent or even absurd in today's world. In May, we provided a subsidy of over $140 million to Brazilian cotton farmers.  The government subsidizes products that cannot survive on their own, such as ethanol, bio fuels and wind farms, to name a few. When these products are ready for prime time on their own, they will supplant other fuels via the free market, but now, without subsidies, these technologies are prohibitively expensive. Hiding their true costs in subsidies is dishonest, in that we all pay for it in increased government spending, more taxation and higher deficits. It is one thing to support research, but it is quite another to subsidize the production and deployment of...(Read Full Post)