and the rest of the farmers are mexican illegals.
I guess from that perspective you're right, our taxpayer money is going to rich americans and passing straight by the poor mexicans who actually do the grunt work.
Two things.
First off all, even with the tax breaks and subisides, starting a farm enterprise is expensive as hell. You need a huge plot of land, tons of extremely expensive equipment, seed crop, fertilizer, a reliable source of water, and a couple of years while you wait for your plants to mature. And I know I'm oversimplifying the process a lot. Thus, if you wish to start a -new- farm in the United States, you need to be fairly rich, even if you get a good set of loans. Or you could buy a farm currently in existence, which is also a fairly expensive process and generally beyond the reach of an average middle-class American. The only other way to become a farmer is to inherit a farm and work from there.
This means that a substantial portion of our farmland is owned by... wait for it... rich people. Who thus receive the tax breaks and subsidies, whilst hiring others to manage their land for them. Quite frankly, I'm not particularly surprised. The problem lies primarily within the mishmash of conflicting interests represented by our tax code, not the rich people who hire teams of accountants to take advantage of it.
