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The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) was signed by President Roosevelt. The government paid subsidies to farmers to not plant on parts of their farm and to kill excess livestock. The purpose of this was to reduce surplus, which would raise the value of crops/livestock.
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The Great Depression hit farmers especially hard. Not only did the average farmer income fall dramatically, so did crop and livestock prices. It was clear there was a need for change, and fast.
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The Supreme Court ruled that the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 was Unconstitutional based on the grounds that the government was overstepping their boundaries by trying to control production. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma02/volpe/newdeal/timeline_text.html
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The food stamp program was originally a pilot program, however, President Johnson signed it into law in 1964.
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The program was set up to support poor families across the country. It is funded by the federal government and distributed by states. Each qualified person is provided a certain amount of stamps in exchange for food at the store.
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President Nixon signed this bill, which focused on target prices.
The federal government set a specific price and if market prices dropped below that level, then farmers would receive a paycheck to make up the difference. -
A few specifics included in this bill were-- $20,000 limit per crop and relief payments in case of natural disasters. (Crop insurance)
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Farmers around the country were dealing with the highest crop prices in almost 20 years and receiving about 21% of their income from the government. Bill Clinton signed this bill into law with the purpose of stopping farmers from relying on the government. The plan was to reduce payments to zero within several years.
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The payment reducing plan did not last long. Since the farmers were allowed to plant whatever they wanted, they ended up collapsing the high prices and needed assistance again. Instead of 21% of their income coming from the government, the number rose to an average of 50%.
