MORE help from the Gov'mt

Ah lawd - I am gettin weary, but, I will press on.

Railroads: took over they went bust.

Airlines: they took over they went bust.

Post Office: they took over they went bust.

Medicare/Medicaid: they initiated it they are bust.

Social Security/retirement: they took over they are bust.

Now one you might not know about. Small family farms: we all know they disappeared. But why?

Farmers Home Loan Administration; that is why. Let me explain what happened.

The Gov’mt decided the small family farmer needed help. And they stepped in.

They did a massive, multi-billion dollar study on farms, and developed flow charts, and business plans for a successful farm. They even regionalized it. But, the majority of old “Family farms” did not fit in the scenario they developed. For one thing, there are drastic differences between localities, sections, areas, and regions.

A great example is the family farm I grew up on. It was 150 acres. So they figured 150 acres, less 5 for housing, leaves 145 for farming. Said 145 acres should produce X bushel of crops. If that was not happening, then we were inefficient.

Problem one – of the 150 acres, 50 were not even able to have a tractor driven on it. Another 50 were in timber that would cost more to clear than it would produce over 10 years. That left 50 acres, minus homestead of 5, so therefore 45 acres farmable, not 145.

Those 45 acres would not produce crops the same way that their charts showed. So 100 acres short of their estimate, and a lower yield per acre to boot, they determined WE were either not trying, or were not efficient.

We needed a bigger tractor, bigger planters, harvesters, storage, and on and on.

Not only did they say we needed it they demanded it. We already had our primary land loan with them, and if we wanted that loan renewed, we would follow their advise; period.

So we bought a big tractor, that hardly had room to turn around, but still needed the SMALLER equipment to finish the job.

Production did not meet their charts, and it was obviously our fault. After all, we had 145 acres at X bushels, and only produced 45 acres at Y bushels.

They were the government, the experts, the ‘know-all’, and we were ‘stupid farmers’.

In the end, a farm that produced $40,000 before expenses, had $300,000 in debt, and the payments to go with it.

And these are the same ‘geniuses’ we want to solve our economy, and health expense problems.

GUGHABOHICA (Grease Up Grab Hold And Bend Over, Here It Comes Again!)