THE PUBLIC MIND: IS THE LOSS OF FACTORY JOBS TO UNFAIR FOREIGN COMPETITION `PART OF A HEALTHY TREND'?

To the Editor:

On Aug. 26, Gary Rust re-ran an article written by now-candidate Peter Kinder that was published April 12th, 1990. Mr. Rust charged that Democratic candidate Betty Hearnes had taken remarks made by Kinder out of context.

For those who missed the articles, Peter Kinder's point was that the Farm Aid Concert organizers failed to understand that the decline in agriculture was quote: "part of an absolutely healthy trend."

Mr. Kinder's comment is correct only where the decline in farm numbers is directly related to increases in farm productivity. I repeat, only when the percentage increases in farm productivity are equal can this be part of the trend he speaks of.

It must be noted, however, that the decline in agriculture that brought about Farm Aid was a large number of farm bankruptcies brought about by misguided policies of our government and that the number of farm losses was well over the number that would have been expected due to increased production which had been relatively flat or in decline for several years. The Reagan-Bush policy of continually lowering loan rates and support prices to force the ratification of the GATT treaties (which by the way the Bush administration has now abandoned as failed policy) led to the gradual decline of crop prices while costs continued to escalate.

This is the squeeze that caused an alarming number of farmers to become insolvent. Since 1980 the decline in farm numbers has escalated at an alarming rate with a loss of as many as 10 percent of the U.S. farm population in as little as 4 years. This is well above that figure associated with the increase in productivity. Farm Aid was solely an attempt by a group of compassionate people to try to assist those bankrupt individuals evicted by poorly thought-out policy. Any person given the appropriate information would have to conclude that GATT could never be ratified because the people of European nations have experienced drought, famine, and food shortages and would vow to never suffer starvation again.

I cite these additional causes to the escalation in farm failures:

Since the 1980s, U.S. soybean production has dropped by 10.3 million acres while competitors in Brazil and Argentina increased production by 23.5 million acres, partially financed without tax dollars.

U.S. farm exports in 1991, $37.5 billion; in 1981, $43.5 billion.

A USDA survey in 1985 showed 63 percent of farm debt was owed by farmers with a negative cash flow and 43 percent of these were deeply in debt.

On March 6, 1985, President Reagan vetoed a bill designed to help farmers.

This administration has exported U.S. farm jobs just as they are now stealing jobs from U.S. factory workers and sending them overseas.

Peter Kinder needs to be reminded that the port at Scott City depends heavily on the tonnage of agricultural supplies such as fertilizer and will be even more reliant on farmers with the signing of a contract with Consolidated Grain to locate an export facility at that location. When one takes time to ponder Kinder's remarks it make you wonder how much longer it will be before he forms the opinion that the loss of U.S. factory jobs due to unfair foreign competition financed by our tax dollars is "part of an absolutely healthy trend"?

Finally, Gary Rust must be commended for holding up for what a former employee has written. But tell me; if Betty Hearnes quoted one verse out of the Bible, would it be necessary to print the whole chapter?

David L. Seabaugh

Jackson

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