The Rural Voice, 1980-01, Page 14Keith Roulston
Does it matter who's in power?
Governments come and governments go but whatever the
name of the party in power the effect seems to be the same:
policies that hit hard at rural Canda.
I remember attending a meeting a few years back at which the
present agriculture minister was speaking as the agriculture
critic of the opposition party and was saying that if only his party
was elected things would improve because there would he more
emphasis on rural needs.
But the present government's policies are hurting rural
communities even more than the previous government'sThat's
not pointing any fingers of guilt since many of the worst policies
are simply extensions of the previous government's policies but
it does show that it isn't the party in power that makes the
difference but the fact that policies today are set to solve
problems of the heavily populated, heavy voting areas, not the
rural areas.
The biggest complaint about the present government from
rural areas (all areas for that matter) is the decision to push up
petroleum prices. It hurts everybody of course but particularly
rural people because we simply don't have the alternatives.
Farm spokesmen have been quick to put the complaints of
farmers on record. Finance Minister John Crosbie says he's not
worried about farmers because farmers are so efficient they'll be
able to cope with the situation. What Crosby ignores is that
farmer's vaunted efficiency has been built on the back of a cheap
energy policy.
The economy of the southern United States before the
American civil war was based on cotton harvested by cheap slave
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labour. The slaves of efficient farmers in Canada in the 1970's
have been electricity and diesel fuel at relatively cheap rates to
power the amazing variety of gadgets invented to let one man or
a family do the work that would have taken many men at the turn
of the century.
Now in effect the salary of those farm hands, the diesel tractor
or the electrically -power barn clearner have just been
dramatically increased. But there are differences in today's
economics. If your grandfather working with, say, three hired
hands in the early part of the century had been faced with the
current economic problems he would likely reluctantly have had
to let somebody go. The modern farmer hasn't got it so easy that
way. Cutting back on the use of diesel fuel may be marginally
possible but the huge $50,000 beast of a tractor can't be laid off.
It still costs money just sitting there, money that with the
government's current interest -rate policy is more expensive than
ever.
The small town businessman isn't so directly hit by energy
costs but he's also hard hit by the high cost of borrowing. Even a
relatively small store on main street of any town in the region can
have S100,000 tied up in inventory alone these days, without any
consideraton of real estate or store figures. The extra cost of
carrying that inventory may be the straw that breaks the camel's
back.
And while energy may not be as crucial to the people doing
business in our small towns as it is to farmers, it's still very
important.
It adds more cost to everything that has to be shipped in or out
of town. Transportation costs have always been the major
Greetings to All!
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GARAGE LTD.
Londesboro
• Blyth 523-4519
• Clinton 482-9221
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