Although the press has paid scant attention to the fact, Ralph Clark -- mastermind of the Freemen movement now confronting FBI agents in Montana -- has, along with partners, received more than $650,000 in federal farm subsidy payments since 1985.

Moreover, he has personally received more than $2 million in federal farm loans since the late 1970s. And the federal government kept sending him annual payments of almost $50,000 for not growing on the land he bought with government loans -- long after he effectively defaulted on the loans. The very fact that he was uncreditworthy entitled him to loans from the Farmers Home Administration. That he kept losing money time and time again proved he needed -- and deserved -- more loans.

Studies indicate that the Farmers Home Administration actually encourages struggling farmers to continue farming until they destroy themselves financially.

• According to the agency's own records, by far the most frequent cause of bankruptcy among its borrowers is "poor farming practices."

• The General Accounting Office estimates that a quarter of FmHA bankruptcies occurred because the farmer received too much subsidized credit.

Loan defaults at FmHA are legendary:

• Since 1989, FmHA has sustained more than $12 billion in loan defaults and other losses.

• In 1994, the Clinton administration forgave $138 million in losses from 74 farm borrowers -- almost $2 million per farmer.

• The GAO reported in 1995 that FmHA in recent years gave $500 million in new loans to farmers who previously defaulted on government loans.

• In 1992, the GAO estimated that nearly three-quarters of FmHA's $20 billion in outstanding farm loans could default.

In the most recent survey, almost 40 percent of farmers with direct FmHA loans were delinquent -- a rate more than ten times higher than that of the average bank. And it could get worse; while Congress takes pride in phasing out farm programs, subsidized lending to farmers is scheduled to be increased between now and 2002.

Losses aside, critics of federal loan programs note that uncreditworthy borrowers enjoy interest rates up to four percentage points lower than those whose credit is up to bank standards. This gives the untrustworthy a significant competitive edge over those who can be relied upon to pay their bills.