World War II Losers Passing the U.S.
So much talk recently about the cost of diesel fuel, the increasing costs of trucking, plus the increased inconvenience and cost of air travel, and gas tax holidays.
How about a truly radical idea, a win-win deal that can help alleviate these problems by competing with the airlines, reducing energy costs of transportation and create thousands of good jobs to boot? Is it too difficult for our "leaders" to understand that it is time to rebuild our ailing rail system to the high level enjoyed by Japan and Germany (remember them, the countries that lost World War II?).
Paul Slater
Northampton
Farm Bill Outdated
The 2007 U.S. Farm Bill currently being considered by the United States Congress is a multi-billion-dollar?farm subsidy bill renewed every five years. It is a continuation of the 2002 Farm Bill. The bill first became law in 1933 as a means of preventing farmers from taking a loss on their annual production of crops [corn, wheat, cotton, rice and soybeans]. The government paid farmers the difference between what they sold and what it cost to produce.
At the time, it was a brilliant means of priming the pump so that farmers could be temporarily shielded from the effects of the Great Depression on their industry. Today's Farm Bill is a clear example of a government program being continued way beyond its original intention.
Essentially, the government now pays farmers to underproduce crops in order to charge higher prices. Adding to the controversy is that it gives two-thirds of the subsidy to the top 10 percent of farmers. As with most government programs, bureaucratic self-perpetuation has allowed this subsidy to become corrupted.
Not surprisingly, the government has it backwards. Why not let the farmers produce as much as possible, sell what they can on the world market and give their surplus to the poor? Whatever they don't sell, the government should pay them for their surplus and distribute it among those in poverty.
In a world facing a food crisis never before seen in the history of humankind, we should never halt the production of food under any circumstances.
Joe Bialek
via email
