Charging for Bovine Flatulence

Even though it is only a proposal, the idea that one would charge farmers and ranchers for cow farts is simply indicative of the mindset of the left.

My guess is, that devoid of direction in life and having abandoned those institutions that in the past have provided such direction, such as church, work, and even country, these people latch onto the latest fad movement.  In this case, meandering leftists have latched onto global warming.

The problem, of course, is that these fad movements are inherently ridiculous at their core and they produce equally ridiculous results.  Thus a tax on bovine flatulence.

For farmers, this stinks: Belching and gaseous cows and hogs could start costing them money if a federal proposal to charge fees for air-polluting animals becomes law.

Farmers so far are turning their noses up at the notion, which is one of several put forward by the Environmental Protection Agency after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that greenhouse gases emitted by belching and flatulence amounts to air pollution.

“This is one of the most ridiculous things the federal government has tried to do,” said Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks, an outspoken opponent of the proposal.

It would require farms or ranches with more than 25 dairy cows, 50 beef cattle or 200 hogs to pay an annual fee of about $175 for each dairy cow, $87.50 per head of beef cattle and $20 for each hog.

The executive vice president of the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation, Ken Hamilton, estimated the fee would cost owners of a modest-sized cattle ranch $30,000 to $40,000 a year. He said he has talked to a number of livestock owners about the proposals, and “all have said if the fees were carried out, it would bankrupt them.”

Sparks said Wednesday he’s worried the fee could be extended to chickens and other farm animals and cause more meat to be imported.  Read more….

Tags: bovine flatulence, tax