struggling farmers as pro-basketball star scottie pippen, david rockefeller, major league pitcher kevin appierh lay. these individuals received as much as 160 times what the average farmer can receive in farm subsidies. clearly, it is the rich and famous who are at the federal trough. if what you are trying to do is create an abundant, safe, high-quality food supply, you have to provide the subsidies to the people who produce them. and that, of course, is the large-scale producer. schoumacher: on may 14, 2002, president bush signed a farm subsidy bill estimated to cost $190 billion over 10 years. this rekindled a national debate. who benefits from farm subsidies and do farmers really need such support? but when farm subsidies began in the 1930s, there was little need for debate. until 1933, the united states government maintained a laissez-faire attitude toward agriculture. then, as the great depression brought new desperation to farmers, people wondered, wasn't there anything the government could do to help? the question was first answered with franklin roosevelt's new deal. fdr acted quickly