Demonstrations of trust and confidence can be noble and powerful under the right circumstances, but not when it comes to handing out government money.
Yet the federal government is a little too gullible when it comes to reimbursing farmers for money lost through natural disasters.A recently released government study shows agricultural officials have a habit of writing checks without bothering to verify whether farmers ever even planted the crops they claim to have lost.
The potential for abuse involves substantial amounts - farmers received about $8.8 billion in disaster aid during the last six years.
This appears to be a classic example of the government expanding a program without preparing for the consequences. In 1988, Congress started adding many new crops to the list of items eligible for aid. The list now includes more than 1,200 items.
For years the list had included only things such as wheat, corn and cotton - all of which had a long-established history of yields and production data.
Now, agricultural officials have to deal with claims for lost fruit and vegetables, oregano, peppermint, tropical fish and other items for which the government has little data because it doesn't offer federal price supports.
The longer list has led to an increase in claims, swamping county agricultural offices whose workers were ill-equipped to verify the information.
As a result, an estimated 20 percent of claims were processed without verification. Word of that kind of sloppiness is bound to get around.
Congress already is considering a law that would make it harder for farmers to receive payments without first having acquired insurance. Presumably, this would make it impossible for farmers to make up stories about the crops they planted.
Lawmakers had better hurry. Claims from recent floods in Georgia, Alabama and neighboring states already are pouring in.