"Federal Government Is Responsible for the Downfall of Business and Farming"

While enjoying a bluegrass/rockabilly musical performance with friends Saturday evening, I had a conversation with a friendly couple from Putnam County in north Missouri. It did not take long before the woman outlined how the federal government was responsible for the downturn in the US economy, as well as for over-regulating farming. In short, she blamed the federal government for all the ills of society.

The outspoken woman described the couple's difficulty in maintaining a trucking business, mentioning the economic conditions and excessive government regulations as the cause of their troubles. They also discussed the economic conditions for residents in Unionville, Missouri, a rural town with a population of 3000. I shared how my wife's family had relied on income from a small diary farm and row crops, while both her parents worked full-time jobs in meat-packing and state mental health facilities. They quickly blamed the federal government for programs that prevented farmers from prospering, despite my efforts to insert how large multi-national companies, like Cargill and Tyson, have impacted small farming and consolidated food production. (If you think this is an argument "for" the Federal government in all cases, a review of the USDA's promotion of harmful DDT in farming points to one example of excessive intrusion.) Having a conversation in a smoky Blue Springs Missouri bar with a loud band in the background didn't help the discussion.

The conversation showed the animosity some people have for government programs, despite some of the benefits these programs have for sustaining communities and relieving poverty. Just take a look at the need and acceptance of Federal food assistance programs in Putnam County, where Unionville is located.

Statistics show that a "very low" percentage of people eligible for SNAP/Food Stamps participate in the program in Putnam County, though a "very high" percentage of people that are eligible participate in Free and Reduced Lunch program and receive food from private pantries. These stats show both the acceptance of Federal food assistance, as well as the difficulty.

One reason people in rural areas don't apply for SNAP is because applying usually requires a visit to a distant office to file an application. And charitable food pantries don't serve as many people in rural areas because of the distance residents must travel to a pantry. However, the lunch program is administered from the school, in other words, close to where the kids can gain benefits, which may explain the much higher participation levels.


These programs provide a significant relief for working families, in many cases the assistance is what stands between a family and a poverty-level income as described in a US Census poverty report.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Community Media: Serving More Than a Geographic Region

Community media outlets like KKFI 90.1 FM in Kansas City have thrived for decades, maintaining a well-established broadcast model: high-quality studio sound broadcast to a wide geographic area serving the "community." Non-profit community radio station like KKFI, along with college radio and small commercial radio stations keep costs low by renting small studios and operating with few paid employees. These stations attract small audiences but differentiate themselves by focusing on community issues, music and culture. This focus is what defines community media, along with -- in the case of community radio -- maintaining cooperative ownership, not corporate ownership. Community radio operators always knew that "community" was more than a geographic region; it was the various cultural, ethnic, social and artistic communities for which locally-produced radio shows target. KKFI has local radio shows by or directed to African-Americans, Mexican-Americans and immigrant
Read more

Quest for a new volunteer management system at KC area food bank

Image
Note: This document is an early draft of a business case to upgrade a volunteer management system. It is not intended to be a fully organized statement of requirements, but more of a collection of features and a document for discussion. Overview Harvesters, the Kansas City area food bank, would like to improve the capability of the Volunteer App, the volunteer management system used to schedule, track and recruit volunteers and groups.  The Volunteer Services department would also like to improve the efficiency and accuracy of volunteer management by adapting their processes with new features and functions from an updated application. The current, custom Microsoft Access-based system developed a few years ago provides a rich-featured, robust solution to track individuals and groups volunteering at Harvesters. The system tracks all volunteers working in the Volunteer Outreach Center, as well as those donating their time and skills for events and in departments throughout Ha
Read more

Lee's Summit Proposes the Sanity Approach to Waste Reduction

Image
Finally! The city of Lee's Summit, Missouri took a responsible approach to trash service by replacing an all-you-can-dump-with-no-free-recycling-option to a "volume-based" approach similar to the successful service used in Kansas City, Missouri. After the service is changed, then those residents who have paid $2.50 per month to trash companies like Deffenbaugh can rely on the new service for free recycling, plus get the satisfaction that waste will be reduced and recycling increased. ...the City Council directed city staff to issue the state-required two-year notice to all solid waste haulers providing services in the City that the City is considering implementation of a comprehensive, citywide, solid waste program.  The program currently proposed by city staff includes volume-based pricing for residential trash service with unlimited, curbside recycling at no additional fee .  Under this proposed program, residents would only pay for the amount of trash they discard ;
Read more