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Farmers9 deib'
deopits IbooHiilMg economy
Politicians and businessmen cele
brating the apparent economic rec
overy, especially those from argicul
tural states like Nebraska, would do
well to read a United Press Interna
tional story published Monday in
The Lincoln Star.
While most sectors of the econ
omy are booming, the story reported
that farmers have continued to go
deeper into debt. Because land
'values have dropped dramatically,
some no longer are able to borrow
enough cash to continue their oper
ations. Some startling information re
ported by UPI:
The Farmers Home Administra
tion says 263,000 of its clients, or 41
percent, are behind on payments.
In many areas, lending agencies
are moving to foreclose before spring
planting begins.
In Georgia alone, some 700 farm
ers are facing foreclosure.
In Nebraska, 1,157 farmers are
seriously delinquent on their loans.
In Mississippi, 89 farmers owe $1
million each to the FmHA.
Clearly, manypeople who depend
on the farm for their living are in
serious trouble.
Who's to blame?
The government must accept part
of the responsibility for the disas
trous farm economy. The Soviet
' jln embargo enacted by former
President Jimmy Carter and other
foreign policy decisions by the Car
ter and Reagan administration have
reduced exports. This means larger
surpluses in the United States and
lower grain prices for farmers.
But many farmers must also share
the blame for their situation. Some
have been poor managers, borrow
ing so much money that, just like the
U.S. government, total repayment
seems hopeless. Some have purchas
ed more equipment than they need
just to keep up with the neighbors.
And some have been just plain
greedy, planting from fence row to
fence row to produce more grain,
thus adding to the surpluses and
driving prices even lower.
The troubles down on the farm
may seem unimportant to city dwel
lers, but in Nebraska and other
Midwestern states, they affect every
one. Farmers and those engaged in
farm-related business make up such
a large portion of our population
, that if they are in a pinch, we all feel
it. If they have fewer dollars to
spend, the state's economic health
suffers and tax revenues drop ac
cordingly. There are, of course, plenty of
reasons to be optimistic about the
economy, but for Nebraskans, espe
cially those in charge of state finan
ces, the key word is caution. Until
the farm situation improves, the
state cannot act as though it has
had a complete recovery.
Good farmers
our government .know
'hat you're worth
All right, farmers what do you
want your president to do?
Youll never have a better chance to
make yourselves heard than right now.
The few of you don't have the numb
ers to have much clout in Washington
between elections, but you have it now.
r . '
Paul
rj Harvey
You are uncomfortable as hell in the
cost-price vice you are hollerin' mad
at the way things are but dont let all
the steam blow off in the whistle.
Tell this president andor the guys
who want to be president something
specific they can and must do to help
you.
While you're thinking about it, let me
dare to remind you that some of the
trouble you're in no president can
help.
. Northern Minnesota has had seven
years of drought; no president can
make it rain.
And even if he could, he'd never get
the rice farmers of Arkansas and the
catfish farmers of Alabama and the
citrus growers of the Rio Grande Valley
to agree on how much is too much.
Agriculture is a many splendored
thing but its very diversity sets sena
tors from cotton states against wheat
programs and vice versa.
And you tried a peanut farmer in the
White House and ended up with an
embargo!
Farmers, I don't know how to make
a sharp point painless; some farmers
shouldn't
I know that in Iowa 10 percent of
farmers are bankrupt or almost. Lots
of bottomland farmers have suffered
natural disasters.
And I see the tight-jawed men and
weeping farm wives on prime-time TV
telling how rough it is to be over-the-hiil
and starting over.
But some farmers shouldn't.
nmr farmers are bad farmers: snend
more time at the tavern than on the
tractor.
Some farmers are good farmers and
bad managers, take on too much land,
too much debt; have no cushion for a
succession of bad years.
Some young farmers for no better
reason than trying to keep up with the
Joneses will buy bigger tractors than
they need or can pay for.
I know for a fact of a Binford, N.D.,
dairy farmer whose vanity led him to
invest in a new milking ranching
though to pay for it he had to sell his
only milk cow!
That sounds like a joke. It's no joke.
Too many of us have put too many
eggs in one basket. Without diversifica
tion we're vulnerable. Too many sun
flowers and the midge comes along
and here comes the sheriff.
Some farmers shouldn't
It's too easy always to blame the
government.
But while politicians left and right
are courting you, if you have a con
structive recommendation ' to offer,
now is the time.
134, Los Anjstet Times Syn&csts
Editorial
- Policy
Unsigned editorials represent offi
cial policy of the spring 1934 Daily
Nebraskan. They are written by this
semester's editor in chief, Larry Sparks.
Other staff members will write edi
torials throughout the semester. They
will carry the author's name after the
final sentence. They will carry the
author's name after the final sentence.
Editorials do not necessarily reflect
the views of the university, its em
ployees, the students or the NU Board
of Regents.
According to the policy set by the
regents, responsibility for the content
of the newspaper lies solely in the
hands of its student editors. -
'More real than paper money y
Chickens are currency after crash' of '84
If the swishing tail of Juan Jimenez's mule had
struck the mule fly before it bit, perhaps the world
would not have gone bankrupt
But as it was, the bite became infectecL.the mule
wrent lame, Juan was unable to get his spring crop of
macrame tea cozies to market in Buenos Aires, his
Arthur
J5;V Hoppa
taxes of 11,462 pesos (83 cents) went unpaid!, and
Argentina irrevocably defaulted on its $43 biiiio.i
debt
"What the heck," said President Raul Alfonsin,
"there's no way we can ever repay $43 billion anay
way and by bellying up well save more than $5
billion a year in interest
VS. banks could undoubtedly have survived this
loss had not other Latin American and Third World
countries followed suit "What's good enough for
Argentina i3 good for us!" cried the Ratt of Phynlda,
Cling for Chapter 1 1 on the $ 1.24 he owed the United
c
tes in postage due.
The total debt of these nations was $SQ0 billion
and one by one banks around the world closed their
doors. In the United States, the Federal Reserve
Board made a gallant effort to rescue the sinking
savings institutions. But by the time the national
debt had doubled to $2.82 trillion, cooler heads
prevailed.
"What the heck, there's no way we can ever repay
$2.92 trillion anyway," mused Treasury Secretary
Regan. "And if we go belly up, we can save $260
billion a year in interest, thereby more than balanc
ing the budget."
That was when the world went bankrupt Oddly
enough, the results were not as appalling a3 often
had been feared. While all consumer savings were
wiped out overnight, money being worth nothing as
money, so were ail consumer debts. And as any
consumer worthy of the name owed considerably
more than he or she had saved, consumers generally
came out ahead
Moreover, paper money proved valuable for insu
lation, fuel and covering the walls of mental institu
tions in a restful green.
People rather liked the barter system that inevit
ably developed. "It somehow seems more real than
paper money," sold Seacaucus, NJ., housewife Muriel
Trundle as she gave grocer Clarence Figg a back rub
in exchange for a pound of ground chuck and six
23.
Best of all, there was no borrowing. As everybody's
credit rating had been ruined in the Great Crash cf
1984, nobody was about to lend anybody any goods
or services. Consequently, mankind entered a golden
era with no bills to pay every day and eight hours of
solid sleep every night
But it was too good to last. Eventually, a desperate
used car dealer named Cowtrader Ted put up a sign
saying: "1982, 4-dr Lemon Sedan Ten Chickens
Down, Two Roosters a Week."
His successs only encouraged the greed in others.
VTith the dollar discredited, chickens became the
unit of exchange and soon I.O,U.s for chickens were
being swapped for goods and services.
The government, which had always consumed far
more goods and cervices than it provided, quickly -began
printing slips of paper that said "We Owe You
50 Chickens" on one side and "In God We Trust" on
the other.
In less time than it takes to tell it, the government
piled up a national debt of 1.43 trillion chickens.
.And the poor nations owed the world's affluent
chicken farmers E00 billion chickens.
All might have been well if a Brazilian bauble
farmer named Victor Gonzalez had not taken an
ill-aimed swat at a pesky baublefly and crushed his
entire fall crop of red and green Christmas baubles,
thereby pre venting him from paying hb taxes cf 142
cruzeiros (3 cents) which caused the President
ijueiTCGo 10 say: uhzt the heea