Ag subsidies must change
The Free Press
Mankato, Minn.

Bringing up the merits of the Farm Bill can be a touchy subject . . .

Farms and agribusiness provides an enormous boost to the economy. Everyone benefits, to some extent, from a healthy local ag economy.

But as Congress looks at budget cutting across the board, it’s clear that many portions of the farm program — particularly the $5-billion-a-year in direct payments to farmers in good and bad years — needs to reformed and reduced.

The farm program was created as part of New Deal legislation to provide a safety net for Depression-era farmers. Today it is skewed toward corn, soybean and wheat farms, which are given subsidies even when crops are good and commodity prices high.

The top, most successful 1 percent of farms take the lion’s share of the payments. And the payments prod farmers to plant crops that most fully exploit the payment system rather than planting based on market demand.

The farm program also works against land conservation by incentivizing crop production on highly sensitive land.

Bringing reform to the Farm Bill has long been proposed but always brought down by a strong farm lobby and powerful farm-state members of Congress.

This time around, a group of Democrats who see the direct payments as corporate welfare and Republicans who are looking for deficit reduction may have built an alliance that will bring change.

One leading proposal would cut $30 billion from the farm program over 10 years, mostly from direct payments.

But there are other proposals — with, we believe, more merit — that would cut less and shift some of the direct payments into conservation programs and a beefed-up crop insurance program that would protect farmers whose crops and income are damaged by nature.

It’s time Congress does what everyone knows is the right thing to do.

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High school graduates: A few words of advice
Kokomo Tribune
Kokomo, Ind.

Especially in this trying economic environment, it seems appropriate to offer a few nuggets of wisdom for those who will be collecting diplomas in the coming days.

First off, don’t panic.

That first job might not pop up right away, but the economy will turn around, and opportunities will present themselves if you’re patient.

In the meantime, soak up all the knowledge that comes your way. Whether you’re heading off to college, enlisting in the military or joining the workaday world, you should never stop learning.

And when it comes time to choose a career, find something you love to do and do it well. If you really enjoy what you do every day, it never seems like work.

Start saving as soon as you possibly can. Put at least a small amount of every paycheck into a savings account so that when your car needs repairing or you have to fly to an out-of-state wedding, you won’t necessarily have to reach for the credit card.

Oh, and speaking of credit cards, don’t get in a hurry to sign up for one.

We know it’ll be tempting with all the offers you’ll be getting, but do your best to resist. And when you do finally relent, make sure you use the card sparingly, and do your best to pay off the balance at the end of each month.

We know that pizza at 2 o’clock in the morning might seem like an emergency, but trust us, that credit card interest will be with you long after the heartburn is gone.

Take care of yourself. This is the only body you’re going to get, and the more you do to take care of it, the better off you’ll be in future years.

Be open to new experiences. Even though you might be sure you already know what you want to do with the rest of your life, don’t be afraid to try new things.

Don’t underestimate what you’re capable of, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. We all make them. The key is to learn from the experience and try to avoid making the same mistake more than once.

Set some goals, and go after them, but don’t get so caught up in your pursuit of tomorrow that you forget to enjoy today. Take some time to enjoy the scenery, and whatever you do, have fun.