From the Strib: On Tuesday, Gov. Tim Pawlenty asked federal officials to declare an agricultural disaster in Kittson, Lake of the Woods, Marshall, Pennington, Roseau and Koochiching counties.
Farmers in those counties “have experienced significant losses due to excessively wet conditions in 2008 and 2009,” Pawlenty wrote in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
MNIndependent says: If states’ rights include opting out of a public option in federal health care reform, they apparently don’t include the right to deal with droughts and deluges on your own.
18 Reader Comments
9:23 am
Max, I don’t see what you and MNIndy don’t get. It makes perfect sense. Just like telling the Federal govt not to even think about getting involved in my Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Much like Craig T. Nelso and welfare, T-Paw doesn’t go asking for govt handouts. When our bridge fell down, we picked ourselves up and demanded Federal assistance. We didn’t ask, we demanded.
Besides, Pawlenty isn’t asking for a govt handout, he’s simply letting God know that he’s not going to stand for His socialist, spread-the-rain policies. That Pawlenty is a Real Amurkin™!
9:24 am
Perhaps the farmers can turn to churches and charities for help.
We certainly don’t want the American Farmer to get mixed up with the federal government (g).
9:27 am
Oh, I get it; that’s why I will be refusing any federal relief for the drought that comes my way.
9:34 am
I can’t believe everyone seems to be okay with God letting illegal immigrants get rained on while picking our produce at far below living wage so that we may save a meager amount of cash which the govt steals from us anyway in the form of taxes, which Obama then mails to the illegal immigrants in birthday cards.
/Sorry, I didn’t mean to go all Bachmann, it’s just that I love America too much.
9:42 am
Broadly speaking, the corn crop for Minnesota is looking pretty good this year, although the harvest is a few weeks behind. This also looks like an excelent year for soybeans as well.
9:53 am
From the US Department of Agriculture (?), a rather cool interactive map showing where the stimulus money is being spent.
10:02 am
The title of this blog entry cracks me up. I can’t tell which of the commentors are serious and which are sarcastic…
Anyway, I think agriculture is more analogous to our current banking system than it is to the current health care debate. Many of the banking systems largest players were deemed “to big to fail” since last fall. The same was true for agriculture in the 30’s.
The government programs in place now, allowing aid to be sought out, are in place largely from that events and other major ag crisis’ over the decades.
10:08 am
And how exactly is Pawlenty going to make sure that no illegal aliens get any drought assistance? I don’t think there’s any enforcement language in the request.
He needs to insist on national identity papers that have to be presented before you can get any assistance.
10:13 am
oh, well as long as it benefits him, and has been in place for 80 years, I guess he can toss his ideological consistency.
10:13 am
good point, mnb. think i’ll move to pennington and immediately begin receiving farm aid. i’m entitled.
10:26 am
Two BIGGEST lies farmers tell: ” I paid for this seed company hat and I am not on welfare.”
10:38 am
When the stock & bond markets dropped by 40%, my income (based on assets under my management) took a major hit….So should I not be able to apply and receive assistance like these farmers are doing?
10:47 am
What farmers wish they could say to their critics: “Go grow your own food.”
11:43 am
“What farmers wish they could say to their critics: “Go grow your own food.”
What their critics would say back “We’ll just buy it from someone other than an a** like you. Good luck living on corn!”
12:20 pm
@Anonymous: The farmers will just make corn likker instead.
2:02 pm
@jstone, actually they did bail you out all be it not directly but the government funded all of the bank bail outs. Thus mitigating a greater market crash. Your assets under management certainly contained some of the stocks that were bailed out. Especially bank stocks. If I recall the Government completely bailed out the money market funds when the broke a buck. Welcome to welfare nation.
5:51 pm
I have family friends who are farmers that constantly bitched about crop prices and how broke they were, yet bought a new Cadillac every other year. Yeeeaahhh…
11:09 am
Good points swandog, but I was talking about ME receiving aid in the form of cash….like the farmers get when weather plays havoc on their crops….In my case, the market played havoc on my income……