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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1981-06-17, Page 7a guest column By Tony *Quaff Last April we were in Ottawa, this June we were in Toronto. Where will • we go next year? There are some real • structural problems in Ontario agricul- ture, To solve them will take a serious commitment a clear vision and politic- al leadership. We aren't getting any of these at the.moment and are bewailing • the impact of the high interest rates. • Interest rates are the current CRISIS on which we in the fanning community are focussing our ire. Our Federal Minister of Agriculture blasts the banks. Our Provincial Minister of Agriculture blasts the feds. Mean- while the interest rate gnaws away at • anyone who has to borrow money (which is most of us). There is a saying "The rich get richer and the poor get poorer" How true it seems to be. We are told these are tough times. If you work for a wage you are supposed to be content with an increase well below the rate of inflation. If you farm you are supposed to be satisfied with a 40% decrease in net income. People who contribute labour to our "economy" either in the factory or on their farm must learn to live on less. This is their sacrifice in -"the fight against inflation". But we can't expect people who have money to put their resource into our "economy" for this kind of return. They need to get interest rates of 16 to 19%. This is 4 to 6% greater than inflation. The rich contribute to "the fight against inflation" by getting richer at our expense: • The Banks, • aided by Federal •economic policy, stack up record profits as well. This "Economic policy" does not, create more jobs, it does not encour- • age production, it does not slow inflation in short it does not work Why do we persist with it? Because we, the electorate, 44inot learn from ' experience! In opposition the Tories bitterly criticized the damage being done by Liberal high -interest policies. They took power in 1979 and followed exactly the same type of policy while the Liberal .opposition mouthed the same criticisms. In 1980 the. Liberals came back to power, promptly forgot what they learned in opposition and interest rates continue to • rise. • It is no coincidence- that the Liberal and Conservative Party coffers receive tens of thousands of dollars in political donations from ,the chartered banks. Sure Eugene Whalen can blast the banks, it Takes good news and distracts the farmers. It isn't going to change either Liberal or Conservative Government policy. We can come to this meeting with demands or begging on our knees - we may even get some • short termt "assistance". But it won't change the basic structure as to who makes the decisions that affect us all. The rich will get richer and the rest of us will get poorer. • • Here is a. little fable that describes our situation:• "Mouseland was a place where all the little mice lived and played...much as you. and I do! They even had a Parliament and went to the polls every four years to cast their ballots! Every election day the mice would elect a government made up of big, fat, black cats! Some ofthese cats even owned the cheese companies where the mice, worked. • "You think it strange that mice should elect a. government made up of cats? You just look at the history of Canada for the last century and maybe you'll see that this isn't such a fable after.all. •'Now the cats were nice fellows and passed good laws. One of the laws said that mouseholes had to be big enough' for a cat to get his paw in. Another said that mice could only travel at slow speeds so that a cat could catch his breakfast easily. All the laws were lgood laws...for Cats. But, Oh, they were hard on the mice! "The mice decided to do something about it! The white cats had put up a terrific campaign for squaremouse holes. So the mice voted the black cats out and put the white cats in. With square holes the cats could get both paws in and life was' tougher than ever. The mice voted the white cats out and put the black ones in again, • then they went back to the white cats and then to the black cats. They tried a coalition! They even got one govern- ment of spotted cats that sounded like mice but ate like cats. "The trouble wasn't with the colour, of the cats. The trouble was that they were cats. Naturally they looked after ,cats instead of 'nice. Presently one little mouse had an idea. (VVatch out for the little fellow with an idea, said • the cats) "Why do we keep on electing Cats? Why don't we elect a govern- ment 'made up of mice?. "But they called him "pinko" and "commie" and "subversive" and • they put him in jail. "However, you can lock up a mouse or a man - but you can't lock up an • idea," Today the wealthy make the deci- sions on how our economy will function. They design it so that they will get richer. In the process we are • getting poorer. It could work differ- • ently. But for that to happen we will have to change the people running it. If we concentrate only on the brush • fires like high -interest rates we get • smoke in our eyes. To extinguish the fires we must remove from office the people who keep lighting them. "Political action" means more than presenting demands at big meetings or crawling around on our knees begging for "assistance". It involves understanding who is Working for us. If you area farmer ora worker that's not the Federal Liberals or the Provin- cial Tories or vice versa. • If we in the farming community • want help, it is about time we started • working for ourselves and with other workers in our economy who would work with us. Let us hope _,for the best today - but let us prepare to work for something better tomorrow. •• • The opinion stated in' this column are the personal opinions of the author • and do not necessarily reflect those of this newspaper or its publishers, South Kinloss Presbyterian has anniversary South Kinloss church was filled to capacity for the morning service and their was a good congregation for the evening •service when South Kinloss obServed their 125th anniversary on June 14. Rev. Wm. Munshaw, pres- ent minister, took part in both services. Rev. Wm. Henderson of 'Woodstock was guest minist- er for this special occasion. He was a good choice as he and his wife, the 'former Peggy MacDonald, were Lucknow natives. His father helped build the present church in 1910-11. He had insiring sermons at both services, speaking in the morning on, Our Mutual Dependence. He stressed that we must set good • examples of Christian living as our forefathers have done in the past. The subject in the evening was, Church Models. The last model being the church as a college or academy where each individual trains for Chrittian service. • His closing remarks were: "Build on the past". "Live in the present". "Don't fear the future' ' . • Unfortunately the guest soloist was ill with laryngitis and couldn't come but .with one day's notice members of the choir filled in. Frank MacKenzie sang a solo, The Lord's Prayer, and Mrs. Rena Forster and Mrs. Ruth Bell sang a duet, I Believe in God. There were also two numbers from the junior choir and an,anthem, A Song and a Prayer, from the choir • during the morning sOrvice. In the evening the Youth Choir sang, Let There be Peace on Earth, and Mrs. Ruth Bell and Mrs. •Rena Forster sang, He Touched Me. The anthem by the choir was, The Wonder of It All. Mrs. Ruth Bell and Mr. Frank MacKenzie sang, How Great Thou Art. Greetings were read from the Presbytery and the form- • er ministers and their famil- ies, Rev. Glenn and 'Mrs. Noble, Rev. Gordon and Mrs. Baulch and Rosalind Reid, a daughter of a former ministet. Much interest was shown in the display of oki pictures set up in the church basement. The ladies of the church served lunch following bt$h services and a pleasant time of fellowship was enjoyed. Social News Mrs. Olive Needham and • Mrs. Nancy MacIntyre and girls enjoyed a birthday part at Point Clark for Carrie Fenton, daughter of Mr. and • Mrs. Vic Fenton of Corunna. • Horne to attend the -125th anniversary service at South Kinloss Church and to visit with friends from this area were Mr. and Mrs. Hugh MacMillan of Watford. Donald Hamilton of Tim- • mins was home to attend the church service and to visit with friends and relatives• . Mrs. Eon Wallace of Lon- don visited with her sister, Mr. and Mrs. Don Bell and family and her mother, Mrs. Steer. • Turn to page 9+0 • Ludas* Sentinel, Weduosdayt Anse 17, 1961*—Pa. 7 Johnston Bros. [Bothwell Limited] , Phone • Phone WardsvIlle 6934383 Komoka 471-3059 Dungannon 529-7947 •• Washed Alaterlalti--,Crushed Stone Cement Gravel •• • , Crushed Gravel—Road C,ontiactors business See Our Stratford Offlee Representative Don Handford AT: The Bedford HOtel,.Godedch, Ontario ON: The 2nd & 4th Tuesday of each month [Next Visit Date: June 23rdj It you require financing to start, modernize or expand your business and are unable to obtain it elsewhere on reasonable terms and conditions or if you are interested in the FBDB maragement services of counselling and training or wish information on government programs available for your business, talk to our representative. FEDERAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT BANK • [Branch Office Addreas) For an appointment or • further information on the Bank's services call • 271-5650 (collect] or write 1036 Ontario Street • • Stratford, Ontario • 4,4. 4. 4. 4. • 4. 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