Farm bill socialism?

Pioneer Press

Fort Jones , CA

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

page E7, column 2

By Phil Hayworth

The 2008 Farm Bill is in fryer now in Congress and is expected to come out the other end - even though President George Bush has vowed to veto it. But there are enough votes in Congress now to veto HIS veto and pass the bill. Last week, it passed the House and the Senate - though some Republicans say it's too filled with pork.

But not Oregon Republican, Congressman Greg Walden.

"Because the trigger prices were set too low in the prior Farm Bill, Oregon 's wheat producers only benefited from one of the three commodity support programs, the Direct Payment," Walden said in a press release last week. "The adjustments made in this bill will hopefully give our growers equity among commodities grown throughout the country and provide Oregon 's grain producers with a true safety net when prices fall."

In other words, mid-west and southern farmers - who've long benefited from ag subsidies - aren't the only ones to benefit this year. Finally, we here in the State of Jefferson might get a little something, too. But so much for smaller government. It appears that this year's farm bill is just another example of the old saying: I'm getting mine, regardless.

He continued: "That meant it was even more important for Northwest growers that we readjusted the target prices and loan rates used to calculate programs such as the Counter Cyclical Payment for wheat and barley so that the programs will work in the future for farmers in the Pacific Northwest, like similar programs have worked for growers of corn and cotton."

"Farmers across the state continue to tell me that although prices for their commodities are high, there's more risk and volatility involved in farming than we've ever seen before as the cost of farm inputs continue to rise," Walden continued. "The price of a bushel may be high, but so is everything else that is required to produce that same bushel, from the machinery to the fuel to the fertilizer."

The strange thing about the Farm Bill is that the vast majority of the money doesn't go to farms. This year, the $290 billion five-year bill includes about $40 billion in subsidies for farmers of certain crops, such as cotton and corn - most of who do not live in the State of Jefferson . Almost $30 billion will go to farmers to idle their land. The rest goes to food stamps for the poor and special projects that lawmakers can bring home to voters this election year, such as including tax breaks for Kentucky racehorse owners, extra help for farmers in Hawaii and Alaska , and nearly $170 million to salmon fishermen in the Pacific Northwest .

Speaking of the election year, Georgia's U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss said he's told President Bush that vetoing the $300 billion farm bill would be a "huge mistake" that could hurt Republican presidential candidate John McCain in November because a veto could alienate rural, agricultural communities and the poor in cities who depend on food stamps.
Chambliss, who himself faces re-election this year, said he pointed out to Bush that the states in the South and West that gave him his strongest support all had agricultural economies.

Meanwhile, both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton support the bill. One radio pundit last week said that support of the bill proves that Obama is a "socialist." If that's the case, then so, too, are 81 of our country's Senators and 318 of our Representatives, including Oregon's two Democratic Senators, Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith. Also a raving socialist is Southern Oregon 's Republican Representative in Congress, Greg Walden. All of them voted for the bill. And you can bet that Republicans on the state level are secretly applauding the bill.

Why? Because that's the way it's done in Washington , folks. If our Congressional delegation hadn't voted for it, Bush would have had the power to veto the bill and Oregon 's poor - including her grain and hay farmers - would have gotten the short end of the stick. Compromising with representatives and senators on food stamps and other items was a small price to pay. And with Bush and his Neo-Con Republicans on the outs this election year, it was the politically smart thing to do.

To comment, email: presscomment@yahoo.com.

The publisher grants permission for the article to be reprinted or distributed.