Sen. Joni Ernst’s Family Received More Than $460,000 In Federal Subsidies

[big_dog]

Source: Raw Story via The District Sentinel News Co-op

Despite Sen. Joni Ernst’s (R-IA) rhetoric about growing up poor on Tuesday night, her family actually received hundreds of thousands of dollars in government aid between 1995 and 2009, the District Sentinel news co-op reported. Ernst did not mention her family’s use of federal programs during her response to the State of the Union. Instead, she said she was raised “simply” and taught to live within her means.

Farm subsidy records indicate that the freshman senator’s father, Richard Culver, has received $38,395 in commodity subsidies and conservation payments, with all but $12 of the money being used for support of his corn crops. Ernst’s uncle, Dallas Culver, has reportedly received $250,000 in federal corn subsidies and $117,141 in additional aid. And her paternal grandfather, Harold Culver, got an additional $57,479 in aid between 1995 and 2001.

“I had only one good pair of shoes. So on rainy school days, my mom would slip plastic bread bags over them to keep them dry,” she said. “But I was never embarrassed. Because the school bus would be filled with rows and rows of young Iowans with bread bags slipped over their feet. Our parents may not have had much, but they worked hard for what they did have.” Salon reported last October that Ernst’s father received more than $200,000 in contracts for his construction company during her stint as auditor for Montgomery County, despite a state rule requiring that contracts be voided if a county official or employee “had an interest” in the contractor.

She later promised that the new Republican-controlled Congress would “propose ideas that aim to cut wasteful spending and balance the budget.” Radio Iowa reported last May that Ernst said she “philosophically opposed” to federal farm subsidies during a GOP primary debate. However, she added, she would continue to support them if elected. “Reality is that with the subsidies, unless we’re eliminating all of them across the board at the same time for every sector out there, then I’ll go ahead and support those subsidies,” she said at the time.



Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/01/sen-joni-ernsts-family-actually-received-more-than-460000-in-federal-subsidies/

[SoapBox]

1. Exactly.

This what Baggers do...suck off the gov'ment (Bachman) and then tell a big tale of woe.

And for those that were very critical of DUer's for picking on this clown for her "poverty" story...well, it was just a matter of time until we found out shit like this...Pukes and Baggers ALWAYS lie.

[big_dog]

5. 460k of aid buys a lot of plastic shoe bags

but she was probably too busy castrating hogs to know the difference

[KansDem]

14. My thought exactly...

So many bags, so little time.

[hibbing]

2. Big bad government

I live in an agricultural state which of course is red as red gets. All these farmers complain about the big evil government but certainly take their subsidies happily. American capitalism at its best, socialize the cost, privatize the profits.

Peace

[PsychGrad]

16. Same here in Missouri

Nothing but hatred for govt and our President, but don't even flinch at taking their own handouts. I mean, who gets insurance for their job if things don't work out? Farmers - nobody else that I'm aware of. And, they think it's "not welfare" bc they work - but, the only people that get welfare that don't work are elderly and children - single working age people don't get welfare - they get the same sort of subsidies (SSDI maybe). So much denial and welfare for those who consider themselves "better" than others. I wish I got subsidies so that if my job didn't "turn out the way I expected" I got extra money to cover my bills anyway for it.

[LynneSin]

3. Hence why I called BULLSHIT on Joni Ernst's story

She wasn't filty rich but she wasn't depression era poor as the way she described herself.

What Joni Ernst is - A LIAR!

[closeupready]

15. +460,000.

[niyad]

4. how is it that these cretins continually forget that so much of this kind of information is ON

RECORD??? they deny they have said or written something, forgetting that records, videos, print, exist. this fact alone makes them incompetent to do anything.

[sharp_stick]

6. But it's not welfare

because it's not....ahh fuck it, even I can't keep up with their bullshit arguments anymore.

[Ms. Toad]

7. The headline is extremely misleading

And the content is grasping at straws. Not helpful.

Despite Sen. Joni Ernst’s (R-IA) rhetoric about growing up poor on Tuesday night, her family actually received hundreds of thousands of dollars in government aid between 1995 and 2009, the District Sentinel news co-op reported.

Ernst was born in 1970. 1995, the first year in subsidy years, was when she was 25. Long after she claims to have been "raised “simply” and taught to live within her means." So even at the 10,000 foot level, the report contradicts nothing she said about her formative years.

Farm subsidy records indicate that the freshman senator’s father, Richard Culver, has received $38,395 in commodity subsidies and conservation payments, with all but $12 of the money being used for support of his corn crops.

So the family in which she grew up received a whopping $2785 per year. Starting the year she was 25.

Ernst’s uncle, Dallas Culver, has reportedly received $250,000 in federal corn subsidies and $117,141 in additional aid. And her paternal grandfather, Harold Culver, got an additional $57,479 in aid between 1995 and 2001.

Did she live with her uncle? Not relevant. Did she live with her paternal grandfather? Not relevant.

If you're (rawstory) going to attack her for economics, do it with real numbers - connected to her family - during the years she was talking about. Otherwise you just look stupid.

[TeamPooka]

13. How do you feel about the $200,000 she funneled to her dad's company? I call that corruption.

[Ms. Toad]

17. My comment has nothing to do with whether she is lying or corrupt.

She claimed to be poor growing up. The article attempts to prove she was lying about her life age 0-18 by proving that from the age of 25 to 39 (after she was out of the house) her father received a few thousand dollars a year in subsidies - and - her more distant relatives (same time period) received even more.

Even if those 14 years of subsidies all came to her father (not the other relatives). Even if they were all received in 1995 - (the earliest in the date range - when she was 25) - they still would not prove she was lying about her childhood.

Like I said, using that particular set of facts & headline just make the author & editor look stupid.

[47of74]

8. Yeah, we have a bunch of loudmouths here in Eastern Iowa who love to complain about welfare.

Of course if you look at farm.ewg.org many of these same loudmouths are often getting a shitload of money from the government in subsidies.

[Vinca]

9. That would buy some mink-lined bread bags.

[3catwoman3]

10. I remember a frame from a Doonesbury of long ago.

It showed a farmer chewing on a stem of wheat, and humming to himself -

"My country, 'tis of thee.
Sweet land of subsidy..."

[Cryptoad]

11. Best of all worlds,,,,,

Michelle and Sarah rolled up into a single Rethug!

[Bigredhunk]

12. It's only welfare when the other person gets it

Trust me, I know this sentiment all too well. I live in Iowa. I hear the farmers whine about welfare all the time. Then you go check the database and see their hand in the cookie jar. They'll shit themselves if you call them on it, but they rarely get called on it. This is why ppl think they can get away with stuff (to answer a question posed earlier in the thread). They're rarely exposed.

Our senior senator (Grassley) has gotten a bunch of farm subsidy $$ too.

[ashling]

18. C'mon, giver her a break!

That's only 230,000 bags of bread

[Thor_MN]

19. Don't mess with Joni, she used to castrate hogs barefoot...

Her story is total bullshit. How many feet could one walk before shredding a plastic bag placed over shoes?

[duhneece]

20. Our 'poor' ranchers received subsidies of 3 million

That was altogether over 17 years, some close to $400,000, some a 'mere' $145,000, some less.

The cowboy myth has been sold to us like the Marlboro Man, just as dangerous in many ways ecologically.