WV Farm Bureau Magazine March 2013 | Page 4

PRESIDENTIAL PARADIGMS The Lesson of Chicken Little Ch l Wilfong, P id t West Virginia Farm Bureau Charles Wilf President, W t Vi i i F B The sky will not fall as a result of the so-called sequester, which took effect on March 1. We have been told by the President and his administration for weeks that planes won’t fly, trains won’t run, kids will cease to be educated, meat won’t be properly inspected and so forth, because thousands of air traffic controllers, teachers, meat inspectors and others will be fired as a result of the sequester. It simply isn’t true. The sequester is actually not a cut at all. It is merely a 2% decrease in the rate of growth of government spending. For example, if a government agency received $100 last year, under the pre-sequestration system, they would automatically receive $108 this year. Sequestration simply cuts that amount to $106. That agency would still receive 6% more money than the previous year. How does that lead to massive lay-offs? If there is any disruption from the sequester, it will occur because the President, through his discretionary authority, can make examples of individual government functions. But his claims that even janitors and security guards at the Capitol will receive pay cuts are just not true. The President himself suggested the sequestration in late 2011, as part of a deal with Congress to raise the debt limit. To his surprise, Congress enacted the sequester legislation, and he signed it into law. Now, he blames others as though he had nothing to do with it. I applaud Congress for at least taking this small step in the right direction and slowing government spending. However, much more needs to be done to return us to some sense of fiscal sanity. I hope Congress will have the courage to continue on this course. We cannot have government that continues to mortgage our children’s’ future. The sequester was meant to force action, and it has. Planting the Seeds for Ag’s Future g g B b Stallman, P id Bob S ll President, A American F i Farm B Bureau F d Federation i Spring is in the air. When I think of springtime, my mind immediately conjures up such words as “renewal,” “optimism,” “new day”… Coincidentally, these same words come to mind when I think about the younger generation of farming. Whenever critics have expressed their doubts about the future of agriculture, I’ve paid them no attention. Traveling around the countryside I’ve seen our current crop of young farmers and ranchers who are excited, energized and optimistic about their industry. I can tell you personally that agriculture’s future is in good hands. 4 West Virginia Farm Bureau News So, when it comes to farming, spring is definitely in the air. Nature’s First Green Just last month