Comments on: Farmer Relay–Tea Party Patriots

By: wilson

wilson — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:04:28 +0000

Bill,

I’m merely suggesting the plight of this particular group of farmers might be misunderstood. There is no question the government isn’t making the situation any better but water issues in the desert west are vastly different from what most of the rest of us are familiar with and this isn’t an isolated case of ag losing out to other users. It happens frequently. The reasoning goes like this: we have only so much water, do we grow more artichokes or protect the environment, provide drinking water, keep an industry open, etc. ag loses every time. These guys are very organized they have very well funded advocates, this is BIG business not your typical 40 acres and a mule operation. Should they suffer because the government is inept, corrupt, (insert your choice), etc. no. Are they among the truly needy in the country? Not by a long shot. Help them if you wish and more power to you but this issue; like so many others, isn’t clear cut.

By: Bill Waller

Bill Waller — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:22:05 +0000

Wilson,
Are you making the argument that because the farmers in California received subsidies (which is common to most of the farming industry) they do not deserve the help of the Tea Party Patriots or willing donors? We can argue about subsidies on a different thread. This is about Americans helping Americans without the assistance of the government. What is wrong with that?

I’ll try not to be so snarky in the future.

By: wilson

wilson — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:48:56 +0000

Bill,
Oh well, based on your reply the Hannity piece would only have reinforced your “thinking”. Oh well, as I said previously this is a very complicated issue; it isn’t just the government screwing farmers. If you are interested in actually learning something about the issue start with researching government subsidized water delivery in California. You’ll find that the billions we (yes you and me) spend annually to deliver water to a desert so valley farmers can grow rice with flood irrigation gives valley farmers a competitive advantage over growers in much of the US.

BTW are you always so snarky when responding to a comment?

By: Bill Waller

Bill Waller — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:02:09 +0000

Wilson,
I didn’t see the story on Hannity so I guess I missed the over simplification of it. I can see that millions of dollars worth of farm land that cannot be farmed might be worth a lot less now, especially in this economy. Oh well, they should pack it all in and sell, right? I can see the affect that this will have on food prices and I can see that if we don’t stop federal encroachment on the farmer in California now, they will be here next. In fact, if the Cap and Trade bill passes, they will be here destroying our family farms too. Oh well, who needs to eat, right?

By: wilson

wilson — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:05:35 +0000

This issue is far more complicated than Hannity has led his listeners to believe. I’m not siding with the smelt but I’m not going to make a donation to a valley farmer sitting on millions if not tens of millions of dollars worth of land either. The dollars raised should go to help the displaced field workers, if you feel compelled to contribute.