Super Rich in Idaho

Idaho needs to know more about super-rich scandals

   Idaho made national news last week. ABC World News reported on Thursday that multi-millionaire Mark Rockefeller, who resides in Manhattan, owns a sprawling property on the Snake River in eastern Idaho. Yes, he is part of one of America’s wealthiest families, and yes, he is subsidized by taxpayers. And, no he doesn’t even live in Idaho.

   He has received almost $330,000 in the past 10 years as a “conservation payment” to not farm his land. He advertises his property on southfork  lodge.com   as “one of the world’s premier fly-fishing retreats.”

   He isn’t returning the phone calls of ABC.

   Diane Sawyer opened the news segment with “As we know across America, budgets for bridges and teachers and fire fighters and roads have been slashed to the bone. So why are taxpayers’ dollars going to some rich people who get them simply not to farm?” Excellent question, and investigative reporting that is seldom seen anymore on network news. We need a lot more reporting like this if we are ever going to balance the national and state budgets in order to educate voters about the real factors behind our economic crisis.

WHAT!  Rockefeller gets paid for not farming?  What idiocy.  And he doesn't even advertise his enterprise as a farm, it's a fishing lodge.  It's just another example of the rich taking it to the poor.  This type of behavior has to stop.  We have to quit giving the rich huge tax breaks and big loopholes in our taxation codes.