If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed right now, before you forget, to get the latest posts. Thanks for visiting!

Comments by President Bush today have me left scratching my head. While he was talking about the economic anxiety people in America are feeling, I find some of the comments about farmers, puzzling.

If I’m not mistaken, the major oil companies have deflected pressure from their record profits by saying that their business is cyclical and these good times make up for all the bad they have and will suffer.

Bush is concerned that Congress has failed to pass sufficient legislation to cut subsidy payments to farmers in this moment of high priced food.

But here is where, in my simple mind, I am confused. If oil companies can be forgiven for high pump prices and record profits, why can’t we let the American farmer, that has been so badly beaten and bruised almost since the 1980s, enjoy a few years of growth that can be used to reinvest in modernizing farm technology.

The American farm has been vanishing. Fewer and fewer people can survive as farmers and when your livelihood is dependent on circumstances like weather, which is completely beyond your control, how can we say that since today is good, tomorrow will be as good or better? We can’t. It won’t be. Life is cyclical. Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug. Haven’t we all felt like that at times.

When times are good is not the moment to take away hard won gains.

It’s like the old parental ploy, give the kid something he or she wants so you can then threaten to take it away if they don’t conform or behave.

For years I’ve dealt with American farmers in financial trouble. None of the situations were ever good. And little help is available to help save a farmer in trouble. I’ve spent a lot of time looking into help and solutions and after a lot of time interviewing farmers, what I found out is it is a tough business.

One farmer trade association connected me with the leading farmer of their group to help show me that farmers can win and succeed. After about 40 minutes on the phone the guy said he needed to come clean and told me he was in terrible shape and needed my help. Crap. Even the poster farmer is fucked.

Let’s leave the farmers alone for a while. Let’s let them enjoy their year in the sun. Let’s let farmers grow crops for ethanol and profitable harvests to refill their bank accounts. Let’s just say thanks for working hard, for producing food for our nation and for laboring in tough times. It’s a good time and I just want you to enjoy it. Farmers of America, you deserve it.

-----

If you enjoyed this post be sure to grab the RSS feed or get posts by email so you don't miss a bit of what's to come.

Steve

P.S. If you can, please take a moment to submit this post, using the logos below, to StumbleUpon, Delicious, Digg, Reddit, etc. I need the web love. Sphere: Related Content

Related Posts