AG BAILOUT HAS MILLIONS FOR TOBACCO FARMERS

For the skeptics of America -- and there are more than a few -- it comes as little surprise that some U.S. senators opposed emergency farm assistance to the tune of nearly $9 billion. This appropriation, approved by Congress and backed by President Clinton, is $3 billion more than last year's ag bailout. But that's a sign of the current farm economy.

Why did some senators, mainly from the East, oppose the emergency aid package.

Again, skeptics would like to think some senators are frugal. Or believe there are better ways to deal with the economics of farm trade other than writing checks. Or realize current federal policies are having a negative effect on those who produce our food and fiber.

But that's not the reason.

The reason those senators opposed the emergency appropriation was -- get this -- because it wasn't big enough. It didn't put big enough checks into the pockets of farmers in their districts.

For the second year in a row, farmers are coping with depressed commodity prices. In addition, many farmers have been hit by drought or by flood -- and, in some extreme cases, both.

There is a clear need for the federal government to pay close attention to the plight of farmers, even though most tinkering seems to produce the wrong results. But if there ever was a clear-cut national interest, it is the ability of farmers to produce sufficient quantities of food and fiber to meet the needs not only of a consumer nation, but also the needs of markets around the world.

One part of the emergency farm appropriation, however, would leave even non-skeptics scratching their heads.

Included in the $8.7 billion bailout is $328 million to compensate tobacco farmers for falling cigarette sales.

Does this make sense.

The federal government has made it clear that it wants to make tobacco companies suffer by aiding and abetting the massive state claims that the companies must pay damages for the expense of treating folks with smoking-related illnesses. This is the federal government that keeps raising taxes of tobacco products in unprecedented jumps in an effort to both discourage smoking and generate funds to pay for smoking-related problems. This is the same federal government that has decided to file its own lawsuit against tobacco companies to recover money spent on smoking illnesses.

And it is the same government that props up tobacco farmers with subsidies.

Now Congress has carried this scenario to its ultimate extreme. Because of the government's efforts to discourage smoking, and because of the government's onerous tobacco taxes, tobacco producers are experiencing falling cigarette sales. So the answer is to appropriate emergency funds to offset those losses.

There are probably a few more skeptics in the country today.