Thank you Presidents Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Bushie

Jim Gooding, an organic dairy farmer in Wisconsin writes, “The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts a drop of 23 percent in income for the farming sector this year, on the heels of last year's 12 percent drop.

Proposed cuts in farm subsidy payments will account for a significant portion of the decrease in income, a fact farmers will have to get used to in a globalized free trade economy.

While subsidy programs are at best a very poor solution to a very big problem (low farm income), the real beneficiary of the subsidy program has always been the corporate grain buyers and the dairy and livestock processors.”

But don’t worry farmers, every average American is in line to share in the results of traitorous decisions made by our elected leaders: President Reagan, GHW Bush for giving China most favored nation status, Clinton for North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and World Trade Organization (WTO) and, of course, Dubya for finishing the job!

At one time, America had tariffs which protected our manufacturing industry. If a U.S. worker made $10 an hour and foreign worker made $2 an hour to make the same product, a tariff was imposed to equal the $8 per hour paid for cheaper labor. Because our government became more loyal to multinational corporations than American citizens, the tariffs were removed, jobs went outside the U.S. and America was flooded with cheaper products (Wal-Mart, dollar stores, etc.).

We now have a $700 billion trade deficit, thanks to our thrill at purchasing cheap goods. What do other countries do with all of those American dollars? Why they spend them by buying any profitable companies left in the U.S. Then the profits from those profitable companies go back to the country owning it.

Amoco profits now go to England. Most of the profits from Chrysler, Random House and GTE/Sylvania go to Germany. Ralston Purina and Gerber profits go to Switzerland, and on, and on. Instead of being a wealthy nation known for production, we are now consumers living with unprecedented debt.

If you have any courage whatsoever, go to www.economyincrisis.com for the whole story. It’s ugly. If there is any hope of saving the future of America, we must band together and get rid of the elected officials who have betrayed America, start counting votes, and elect people who can help us get out of this mess.

Aimee New
Gooding