Times Advocate, 1991-09-25, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, September 25, 1991
Publisher: Jim Beckett
News Editor: Adrian Harte
Business Manager: Don Smith
Composition Manager: Deb Lord
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"Men are never so likely
to settle a question rightly
as when they discuss it
freely."
... Thomas Macauley
Published Each Wednesday Morning at 424 Main St.
Exeter, Ontario, NOM 166 by J.W. Eedy Publications U.
Telephone 1-1511-235-1331
e.$.T. lR10L210gi
I,:llI"I'ORI�\I.
Getting nasty
0 ne thousand farmers gathered
in Lucknow last week to
protest farm prices, that in the
case of wheat, are lower than they were
in 1902, and they let it be known they
want action, not sympathy from politi-
cians.
The farmers said that if the federal
and provincial governments don't take
action by October 1, they plan a unique
strike of their own: they plan not to
pay any bills anymore. The "Line in
the dirt" meeting showed solidarity
among farmers and drew media atten-
tion, but it remains to be seen if farmers
are finally desperate enough to stand
together. Lord knows they have rea-
son. The strike by federal civil servants
who don't want to see their salaries fro-
zen for a year looks a little ridiculous
when you realize that farmer's incomes
have been dropping steadily for most of
a decade. The job security worries of
postal workers seem pretty flimsy when
you see the devastation up and down
concession roads since 1980.
But the civil servants and the postal
workers and the ITC drivers in Toron-
to have a kind of solidarity that fanners
have never been able to demonstrate.
Farmers, living out on their farms, lead
very individualistic lives. They are
also "free enterprisers" who stubbornly
remain one of the few groups in the
world that really do have an open mar-
ket.
If fanners could ever get together, they
have the most powerful weapon in the
world. You think people in Toronto
miss their buses and subways? btu gime
if they faced the kind of empty super-
market shelves that we see in pictures
from Russia. If farmers ever could work
together long enough to endanger the
food supply, they could quickly get the
kind of incomes that other professionals
take for granted.
They might, at least, make people see
how much they have come to take food
for granted in Canada. We are a people
which has never faced starvation. Our
idea of doing without is not having the
right kind of cheese spread in the refrig-
erator. We're a spoiled land where the.
majority eat like kings while ignoring
the plight of the people who produce the
food that lets them live so well.
Farmers have been good guys for
many years and been ignored while the
bad boys of organized labour or, big
business did vii 1. Maybe. it's. the or,
for farmers not to be nice guys anymore.
For many, it may be the last chance.
Blyth Citizen
Needed: a Charter of Duties
Puzzle me this; Why do most
children at a very tender age
know what rights they have,
while even as teenagers they fail
to grasp the meaning of the
words "duty" and "responsibili—
ty?"
Children aren't the only ones.
It seems that citizens in general
are far more interested in what
they're allowed to do than in
what they're supposed to do.
That's why we have - en-
trenched in our constitution - the
Canadian Charter of Rights and
Privileges, but no Charter of
Duties and Responsibilities.
The other day I tried to ex-
plain to Alexander that for every
privilege he receives he should
perform one duty. Naturally, he
only stared at me.
"When you balance your bank
account," I said, "You're dealing
with debits and credits. They
balance each other. If you dotf'I
put money into the bank, you
can't write cheques. It's that sim-
ple."
"What does that have to do
with privileges?" he asked.
"It works the same way. If you
do people favours, if you're con-
siderate and kind, if you carry
your weight and make yourself
useful, people will treat you
well and to things for you."
Talking about generalities
never interests kids very much.
They get bored so easily. Alex-
ander yawned.
"Let's deal with your request,
for example. This morning you
asked us if you could have An-
drew over Mom and 1 not only
agreed, but I picked him up, he
had supper with us, and Man
drove him back. We gave you
what you wanted free of
charge."
"You mean I should have
paid you for having Andrew
over?"
"Yes," I said. "Not with mon-
ey, but with something better
with—specialkindness and
thoughtfulness, with something
that doesn't benefit only you
Peter's
Point
•
Peter Hessel
but others in the family."
I was amazed by his re-
sponse. He actually thought it
was a good idea. The kid must
be maturing fast.
But what about those of us
who have long reached or even
passed maturity? Are Canadi-
ans on the whole prepared to
accept the principle of debit
and credit in our social rela-
tionships? Or are we generally
out to get as much and to give
as little as possible?
Taxes are one example. The
sad fact is that it takes a huge
amount of money to min the
country. If I find a tax loophole
and pay a little less, it means
that you have to cough up a lit-
tle more. And if your company
seeks refuges in a tax shelter,
my group or neighbourhood
may be deprived of the benefits
a valuable program could pro-
vide.
We want to receive and not to
give. And the Charter of Rights
supports our selfish demands.
Of course, we need rights. But
every right has its price tag. If
we don't pay enough ourselves,
we're asking someone else to
foot the bill.
Another example is the crimi-
nal system. Yes, we need the
right to a fairand speedy trial.
But we should eam that right by
staying within the law. Perhaps
it should be spelled out clearly
that we have the duty to stay
within the law, that we might be
forfeiting some rights by break-
ing the law, and that the rights
of victims must always super-
sede the rights of offenders.
To the duties and responsibili-
ties of citizens need clear defini-
tion. Too many of us are well
aware of our rights and' too few
of us know or care enough
about our obligations.
I propose a Charter of Duties
and Privileges that is posted and
distributed and taught wherever
the Charter of Rights can be
found. Could it be that our soci-
ety is in trouble because we
concentrate on the super struc-
ture of rights and freedoms
while neglecting the foundation
that carries th.;m and makes
them possible?
Freedom is one of the world's
most precious commodities.
Fortunately Canada has an
abundance of it in comparison
with most other countries. But
freedom is only one side of the
balance sheet, only the credit.
The debit side consists of such
things as' hard work, food citi-
zenship, respect for the law and
consideration for each other.
Yes, Alexander, you may
have Andrew over if you do
your duty around the house.
Yes, Canadians, you may have
your rights and freedoms if you
carry your share of the common
load.
CONSTRUCTION ENDS
RESUME SPEED
What's wrong with farmers?
A very good question. What
is wrong with fanning today? It
doesn't make much sense to eve-
ryone else who invests hundreds
of thousands of dollars in land to
put up a factory, and a few hun-
dred thousand more for machin-
ery to produce that product. If
you'll pardon the comparison, a
faun is something of a factory.
Or better yet, think of a factory
as a kind of faun that uses elec-
tricity instead of solar energy to
produce a product. A farm's fi-
nal product is food. Or is it?
Well, in some cases, farms do
produce food, directly. An or-
chard can grow apples, and a
vegetable farmer takes complete
cauliflowers right from the field.
Those farmers appear to be do-
ing all right for now.
A bushel of corn, on the other
hand, isn't really mil h uae to the
majority of us. The same ap-
plies for wheat. Until the next
trendy yuppie kitchen appliance
is a counter -top mill, there is lit-
tle chance of selling much wheat
at the farm gate.
Even dairy farms do not pro-
duce milk. It may look like milk
and smell like milk, but it can't
be sold or drank until it has been
pasteurized, had it's fat content
adjusted, and packed into card-
• board cartons or plastic bags.
Then it's milk.
My point, of course, is that
when processing is required by
another agency (operating out of
a factory), the farmer usually
gets screwed to the wall - and
this is somehow the govem-
ment's fault.
The farmers at the Lucknow
meeting two weeks ago demand-
ed immediate government action
to solve their plight, but I have
serious doubts as to whether any
government can really do any-
thing of consequence to help the
farm economy.
Hold that
thought...
By
Adrian Harte
GRIP (Gross Revenue Insu-
rance Plan) and NISA (Net In-
come Stabilization Account)
seemed like such nice ideas
when they were first announced.
We evensawfanm land rental
costs go up in anticipation that
grain fanners were going to fi-
nally make some money. But as
the summer wore on, we real-
ized that insurance costs money,
and putting two percent of in-
come away for a rainy day was
virtually worthless. Two per-
cent of next to nothing is noth-
ing at all.
But they were just federal stop'
gap measures, accuses the prov-
ince. What farmers really need
is cheap interest rates.
Phooey. All the land and com-
bine harvesters in the world
won't help when it costs more to
plant and harvest wheat than
what it's worth.
Forgive me for being so obvi-
ous, but the only thing farmers
really need is money. Money,
the kind of money they get paid
when they actually sell their
Letters to Editor
crops and produce for a just.*
price. The kind of money food
processing plants should be pay-
ing for the gods on which theyi
will be making so much profit...
The kind of money we should be
prepared to spend in the grocery
store.
Even so, many have pointed
out the price of a loaf of bread
would only go up a few cents if
the value of its wheat was dou-
bled.
But we can't double the prices
of wheat can we? Wheat travels
too well, and Canadian wheat
must compete on the commodity
exchanges with cheaper wheat
from around the world. Wheat
from places where fanners do
not live in Canadian houses, pay
for Canadian health care, a Ca-
nadian education, or a Canadian
lifestyle. Wheat from countries
where governments subsidize
farmland under the guise of mil-
itary importance.
What we need are tariffs:
Keep the cheap wheat out, or at
least get its price up to what Ca-
nadian wheat is really worth.
But no, tariffs are a dirty word
these days. Free trade is the
ticket of the day. Get the bar-
riers down, keep the goods flow-
ing in a global market.
Sharing the global wealth will
have only one final result: an
average living standard just
above third -world conditions.
Are the farmers merely the
first to experience that slide, fol-
lowed closely by our auto indus-
try? Where are the tariffs when
you need them?
Maybe it all is the govern-
ment's fault.
Don 'tput a bandaid on half of the problem
Dear Editor. helped Grand lately about what a rough winte i
I'm a little confused about the is- Bend traffic -this is going to be as all the birds
sue in last week's issue regarding why not Exeter? are leaving so early.t I'm sure 1
the installation of a delayed green I'm sure I'm noheard the same observation last
at the Sanders Street intersection. the only person 1 year, and the year before, and the
The issue seems to have been put who avoids driving year before...
on a back burner until a traffic Main Street in ei- 1l1 wait to put in my decision on
count determines whether north or ther direction because of these de- this winter, for it seems to me that
southbound traffic is more in need lays. I'm sure this avoidance isn't there hasn't been a bad winter since
of the delayed green. Perhaps I'm helping the merchants in the core of we locked Mother Nature out of
naive as to the cost of a delved Exeter. If any action is to be taken our "Greenhouse" (effect) a good
green, but it seems obvious that re- it may as well be designed to solve ter► years ago Pat Ni
gardless of which delays are worse the problem in both directions - not Huronn
- both directions have large de- just to put a band-aid on half the
rk
lays... Why not install delayed problem.
greens for both directions? It has On a lighter note - I've heard talk
'3 �`