To rebuild the economy, invest in middle class

Opinion

Written by Adrian J. Polansky Tuesday, 06 December 2011 16:44

Last week, we learned that farm income in 2011 is forecast to reach an all-time high, up 28 percent over 2010, signaling that American agriculture remains a bright spot in our nation’s economy.

The growth in farm income is also making a real difference for America’s farm families, whose household income was up 3.1 percent in 2010 and is forecast to increase 1.2 percent in 2011.

And despite marginal increases in retail food prices, all American families still pay substantially less for food at the grocery store than residents of nearly every other country thanks to the productivity of our farmers. All told, this is good news for our national economy.

A combination of factors has made this growth possible, including strong returns...

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Bill would protect farms from senseless EPA regs

Opinion

Written by Rep. Tim Huelskamp Tuesday, 29 November 2011 15:04

Breaking federal law for allowing your child to work on the family farm? If the Department of Labor’s latest proposal takes effect, such will be the outcome.

Being fined nearly six figures for allowing your teenage son to sell rabbits to the local pet store? A Missouri family learned about that existing USDA regulation the hard way. One could only hope these stories of proposed or actual overregulation were fiction.

Unfortunately, they are as real as can be. These stories would be laughable if the consequences were not so serious. Like several other regulations that hold back the profitability of agriculture, “rules” like these—even rumored ones—have the intended or unintended consequence of hampering the continuity of the...

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Farmers need common-sense policies

Opinion

Written by Sen. Pat Roberts Tuesday, 21 June 2011 13:15

We have it pretty good in America. When we’re hungry, we can run to the nearest restaurant or grocery store for our favorite burger or salad.

When we need a snack we head to the neighborhood convenience store on the corner.

We live in a country where we enjoy the safest, most abundant and affordable food supply in the world, right at our fingertips.

Our ability to largely find what we want, when we want it is in large part due to the hard work and innovation of Amer­ica’s farmers, ranchers and growers.

Today, each agriculture producer is responsible for supplying food for more than 150 people. That’s a modern miracle many of us take for granted. However, there’s more for them to do.

By the year 2050, the global population...

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Cost of health-care bill now becoming clear

Opinion

Written by Jerry Moran Tuesday, 22 March 2011 13:28

When Con­gress debated the health-care bill last year, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi famously quipped, “We have to pass the bill, so you can find out what is in it.”

One year later, the negative impacts of this law are clear: health-care costs continue to rise and access to care has been jeopardized for thousands of Americans.

During the debate, supporters of the flawed law pledged to put an end to escalating health-care costs with the passage of the $2.6 trillion law. However, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office now estimates the law, when fully implemented, will increase annual premiums for families by an average of $2,100.

Medicare’s chief actuary estimates the law will increase health-care spending by $311 billion over...

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