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ON THE PORCH by Will Davis
Coal for the congressman
Toffer a giant coal lump for the stocking this Christmas for
II our congressman Auslin Scott, a member of the agricultural
II committee that helped impose the big-spending fam bill
.ALigned by President Trump last week.
The outgoing Republican majority in the House, and the grow-
ing majority in the Senate, had a good chance to reform badly-
flawed U.S. farm policy this year. To paraphrase comedian Ron
Whir "They had the right, but they did not have the abfli~'
A farm bill basically covers two things. The biggest is food
stamps. Conservatives for years have advocated imposing work
requirements on food stamps, making our fellow Americans get
a job like the rest of us to be digible for funds. As the Good Book
says, if a man does not work, neither should he eat. Given that
we're $21 trillion in debt, this seems like a good idea. So of course
it went nowhere in the new farm bill.
The other main part of the farm bill is the generous regime of
subsidies and payouts to farmers, most of them wealthy friends
and campaign donors to Scott.
Scott used to come to Forsyth with
a Powerpo'mt presenta~on to tout
his alarm over the federal budget
when he first ran for Congress. Scott
chided his 2010 opponent Inn Mar-
shall for conUnualty increasing the
debt ceiling to $13.5 trillion while
doing nothing to address spending.
Scott was right about the pmblen~
He was wrong to pretend he would
do anything about it. It was just a lie
Scott told to get dected. He doesn't
care about spending and his record
X,~,~h~X~ since joining Congress in 2011
proves it. The debt is now $21.5
trillion, a 60 percent increase since
Scott and the Republicans took the
majority in 2011. And he's voted for almost all the spending that
has become law since arriving. It may be one good reason why
they have lost the majority.
Anywa); Scott, who hails from Ashbum and the farming area
around Tifton, succeeded in delivering millions of dollars in
subsidies and handouts to his rich farming buddies, and in killing
any reforms. National Review reports: '~D~ite efforts to dose
a loophole that allows family members of farmers to receive subsi-
dies even if they do not live or work on a farm, the [law] exvands
that loophole to allow distant rdatives such as cousins, nieces, and
nephews to qualify for subsidies?
The magazine continues: "The subsidy is worth up to $125,000
a year, about twice 201Ts national median household income
It's nice work if you can get it. And you don't even have to bother
with the actual work part. So long as you fill out the paperwork
and claim some sort of management responsibili~ you can
be eligible for subsidies, as can your spouse and all your family
members7
Maybe Oprah can go to Scott's home in Ashbum and do a show
with him, telling audience members: '~knd YOU get a farm sub-
sidy, and YOU get a farm subsid~ and YOU get a farm subsidy."
Remember than most farm subsidies go not to the poor,
struggling dirt farmer, but to wealthy corporations that buy new
$300,000 John Deere tractors every few yearn One study found
that the smallest 80 percent of farms received)ust 10 percent of all
subsidies.
The magazine notes that the new law is, "like its predecessors,
a huge jumble of subsidies, quotas and price setting that dole out
welfare to corporate agricultural interests. It creates barriers for
new farmers, wastes resources, and creates risk for farmers and
taxpayers alike7
The law shidds the U.S. sugar industry from mpetition,
which hdps keep U.S. sugar prices double those of the rest of the
wodd.
And while both House and Senate versions of the farm bill had
reforms requiring work for food stamps and limits on subsidies,
none of those reforms, of course, made it into law. It's a law which
Scott gave his full-throated support and endorsement.
Concludes the National Review: "This farm bill represents
everything that is wrong with Washington."
And few p~ple represent what is wrong with Washington bet-
ter than our own congressman, Austin Scott.
oo#
If you're the praying type, send one up for our old friend Inez
GriswelL She lived in Forsyth for many years before returning to
Mississ' pi due to health issues recently. Even after moving awa)
Miss Inez has kept loving this newspaper and this community,
writing ns regular letters telling us so (even if she did brag on her
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets some). We understand this maybe
the last Christmas for Miss Inez, who is in her late 90s. We love
you, Miss Ine~ You've reflected the light of Jesus welL See you on
the other side.
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Will Davis, President Robert M. Williams Jr Vice President
Cheryl S. Williams, Secretary-Treasurer
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Publication No. USPS 997-840
PEACH STATE POLITICS by Kyle Wingfield
hristmas begins
;week. That's
right: "begins."
Traditionally
Christmas lasted 12 days,
although in recent times
we have largely truncated
it to a single day. Pos-
sibly the
holiday was
cut short
due to a
shortage of
turtle doves
and maids
a-milking.
Possibly not.
Either
way, and as
a tradition-
alist, far be
it from me
to deprive ~0~ /'~/'@~
anyone of
what's due
them over Twelvetide.
I don't have any golden
rings, drummers or pip-
ers to offer, but I will give
you a dozen good ideas
for Georgia in the new
year:
12 Regions Without
Certificate of Need:
One of the few ideas the
federal leviathan has cre-
ated and then completely
disowned is "certificate of
need" the idea the gov-
ernment should decide
how much healthcare
service is provided in a
given community. Rather
than letting the market
decide the supply of care,
a state agency considers
applications from would-
be providers - and lets
their competitors widd
what nearly amounts to
a veto. The House Rural
Development Council
recommended ending
CON in Georgia and
relying only on the state's
existing licensure regime.
The key is
ensuring this
change leads
to more choice
for consum-
ers through
competition.
11 Waivers:
That is
the techni-
cal term for
seeking more
flexibility in
how Georgia
spends federal
Medicaid dol-
lars, and it's
fast becoming one of the
most popular ideas under
the Gold Dome. A pilot
program at Grady Health
System in Atlanta sparked
much of the interest, but
there are several other
requests the state ought
to make to ensure tax
dollars are being spent in
the best possible way to
improve access to health-
care for low-income
Georgians.
l O- Week Runoffs
Shortened: Tired of
never-ending campaigns?
One of the reasons we
endured so much cam-
paigning this year is the
lO-week runoff period for
federal elections imposed
by a court order to ensure
TAKING A LIKENS TO YOU by Dale Likens
Many years
ago Ohio
was known
for its steel
production. Steel mills
once blossomed in larger
towns outside
our country
home. Em-
ployment was
high. People
were happy.
Recently
my wife and
I drove past
some of those
dead, steel
miUs. Today
rusted metal
is piled high
in lonely
graveyards
surrounding
those same run-down
steel mills resembling
third world countries
once devastated by long-
ago wars.
Two weeks ago GM
announced its future clo-
sures of its manufacturing
plants in northeast Ohio,
Maryland, Michigan and
Ontario, Canada. March
1st, 2019 GM will end its
production of the Cruze
automobile in Lordstown,
Ohio. Buick La Crosse,
Chevrolet Volt, Cadillac
CT6 and Chevrolet Im-
pala in Detroit, Michigan
will soon follow.
After 50 productive
years in Lordstown, a
small town in Trumbull
County Ohio, nearly
1,600 men and women
will soon be unemployed.
Previously, a second
shift was ended putting
nearly 1,500 people out of
work. Nationwide 14,700
blue-and-white-collared
workers will be moving
to other towns in search
of new jobs. Children will
be uprooted from their
local schools and closest
friends in
hopes that
their moth-
ers or fathers,
or both, will
be blessed in
their search
for new em-
ployment.
Why?
What pos-
sible reason
could GM
instantly an-
~tgd/e ~ t'~e~ nouncesuch
catastrophic
news to so
many people? Some who
have spent 10, 20 and
even 30 years of their lives
working so loyally to GM,
rearing their families in
towns they truly love.
"Money!" Mary Barra,
GM chief executive officer
boldly informed the press,
"We will save 6 billion
dollars in cash by the end
of next year! Definitely,
the new Chevrolet Blazer
SUV will soon be built in
Mexico:'
Each of the two senators
in Ohio, Sharod Brown
and Rod Portman, have
met with Mary Barra to
discuss the possibilities
of building another car,
rather than the Cruze in
Lordstown. "To retool
its factories would cost
hundreds of millions of
dollars" Mary has told the
senators. "It spent $351
million at Lordstown to
make the Cruze:
overseas voters, especially
military personnd, can
participate. Other states
have shortened their
runoffs by using instant-
runoff or ranked-choice
voting for those who are
abroad. It's time Georgia
looked into this, among
other much-needed elec-
tion reforms.
9 Ways to Strengthen
Charters: Charter schools
are public education in-
novators, using flexibility
from some regulations
to use new educational
methods in exchange
for tougher accountabil-
ity. But they operate on
substantially less funding
than traditional public
schools, especially when
it comes to capital fund-
ing. The Georgia Charter
Schools Association has
a good list of nine ways
to strengthen charters,
from greater funding for
facilities to a streamlined
renewal process for high-
performing schools.
8th Year of Criminal
Justice Reform Needed:
The FIRST STEP Act that
Congress approved this
past week is not only a
triumph for sensible fed-
era1 reform but a tribute
to the groundbreaking
work done to improve
Georgia's criminal-justice
system. We shouldn't
stop while we're ahead;
there's too much left to
do. A good start would be
to reauthorize Georgia's
Criminal Justice Reform
Unemployment is a
terrible monster. Families
are uprooted. Parents are
depressed.
Children are hurt.
Towns are destroyed.
Where do you go from
here?
My wife and I grew up
in a small town in Trum-
bull County, very near
Lordstown. A few years
ago my older brother,
Earl, had retired from the
GM plant in Lordstown
with 31 years of grateful
employment. We remem-
ber well the joy that once
filled Lordstown. Most
people were excited in
Lordstown. A new school
was built. A friend of
mine became superinten-
dent of the rapidly grow-
ing Lordstown school sys-
tem. Small shops began
to blossom. Hundreds of
people were employed by
GM. Joy filled the streets
and spread to neighbor-
ing towns.
For 11 years I worked
in a sister GM plant in
nearby Warren, Ohio. At
Packard Electric we made
the wiring harnesses for
GM cars. At the time I
worked at Packard Elec-
tric there was talk in our
plant that some day our
work may be transferred
to Mexico. Our union
fought hard and long
to keep us employed. It
worked.
But today, decades later,
my wife and I returned to
the Packard Electric plant
where I once worked. As
we drove past the main
plant that once housed
the salaried workers, I
Council, which drove
these policy reforms for
seven years but expired
this summer.
7-Day/24-Hour Access
to Your Doctor: So much
discussion about health-
care reform focuses on
coverage, or perhaps pay-
ment. But what matters
most is ensuring patients
can actually see a qual-
ity healthcare provider
when they need one.
New arrangements such
as Direct Primary Care
allow people to contract
with a family doctor for
a slate of routine care
and, often, discounts
on labs, specialists and
other types of care - all
for much less than a
comprehensive insurance
policy costs. They can
pair such a contract with
catastrophic coverage for
true emergencies, cutting
their overall expenses.
But Direct Primary Care
won't take off in Georgia
until lawmakers clarify
that it is not insurance
and shouldn't be regu-
lated as such.
What, that's only six?
Well, you'll have to come
back next week for the
rest! Until then, I wish
you and yours a merry
(start to) Christmas.
The president and CEO
of the Georgia Public
Policy Foundation, Kyle
Wingfield's column runs
in papers around the state
of Georgia.
nearly cried. The build-
ings were empty. Win-
dows were broken. Grass
was growing throughout
the paved parking area
that was now surrounded
by a broken-down wired
fence. Houses that were
once the dwelling places
of many of those work-
ers joyfuUy lined nearby
streets. Now the houses
look sad. Small businesses
have barred windows. The
joy is gone.
Unemployment hurts
small towns, middle-sized
towns and large towns
like Detroit. Its fingers
reach out to neighboring
towns and beyond. Its an-
ger touches small towns,
counties, states and finally
nations.
"Perhaps we can build
another small car in the
same Lordstown plant
where retooling will not
be so expensive!" Senator
Rod Portman pleaded. "If
so, we could even offer a
$3,500 discount when a
person buys any car made
in America!"
Keep pleading and pray-
ing Senator Portman and
Senator Brown. I applaud
your sincere desire to help
your people and your
state. As I said, "Unem-
ployment is a monster!
It spreads like fire. It's
fingers reach out to neigh-
boring towns and beyond.
It touches small towns,
counties, states and finally
nations"
God bless!
Dale Likens is an author
who lives in Monroe
County.
1
