ustxtxb_obs_1985_04_19_50_00013-00000_000.pdf

ment subsidy programs allow the farmer to make as much as is spent on food production. Gutting those programs and returning to an entirely free market system, as called for by the Farm Bureau, would only add to the 1,000 to 1,600 U.S. farmers who have been driven out of farming each week during the last four years. The Bureau’s free market preoccupa tion translates into a “get big or get out” approach to farming, with low farm prices leading to large corporate takeovers. Ultimately, this philosophy only serves giant agricultural conglomerates. “The irony of it all,” the former FB membership coordinator and board member said, “is that the Farm Bureau has two guys down here that have just gone broke farming selling insurance for ’em.” By contrast, the 10,000-member Texas Farmers Union lists the preservation of the family farm as one of its top priorities and allows only actual farmers in its membership. Its president, Mike Moeller, said, “We differ fundamentally from the Farm Bureau on what direction farm legislation should take. We’ve differed on everything from loan Texas Farm Bureau Philosophy Preamble We give thanks to almighty God for the many blessings He has bestowed upon us as a nation and as individuals. We invoke His wisdom and direction upon our every decision in order that we may be worthy citizens of His Kingdom and of our nation. May He grant us the grace to know and to do His will. We believe that our faith in God and the democratic principles of free enterprise and human freedom upon which our nation was founded are responsible for its greatness. We encourage our government officials to return to the concepts of this Preamble concerning our belief in God. We believe in the right of all people to choose their own occupation free from compulsory unionism; to be rewarded in accordance with their productive contribution to society; to save, invest and spend their earnings as they choose; and to worship as their conscience dictates. We believe that the present degree of centralization of power and authority and the trend toward further centralization of power and authority in the Federal government and the apathy of American people to this trend are among the greatest dangers threatening our Republic and the American way of life. “Planned economy” concepts such as socialism and communism, fascism and other forms of totalitarianism must be opposed wherever and in whatever form they may be found. In order that we as individuals in our profession may make greater contribution to the above stated principles through group action, Farm Bureau is a free, independent, non-governmental, voluntary organization of farm and ranch families united for the purpose of analyzing their problems and formulating action to achieve educational improvement, economic opportunity, and social advancement, thereby promoting the national welfare. Farm Bureau is local, national and international in its scope and influence. It is nonpartisan, non-sectarian and nonsecret in character. It is wholly controlled by its members through majority decision and is financed by voluntary membership dues. Teachers . . . We recommend to local public school boards and school administrators that they maintain vigilance at all times to the actions and policies of the National Education Association. NEA is opposed to the fundamental policies of Farm Bureau and are active in the promotion of their own ideology. This organization exerts considerable influence in the state in the selection of school textbooks made available to our school systems. Books they recommend invariably are slanted toward Socialism and belittling the traditional American Heritage. Teachers and counselors that are members of the NEA usually are subject to the influence and pressures of these ideologies and principles. Therefore, those who employ teachers should be sure that the teachers are not subject to undue pressure and influences. We recommend that parents and teachers become aware of subversive authors and obscene literature that is included in the National Education Association’s High School Reading List. . . . WELFARE We recommend implementation of the following goals, intended to reduce and control welfare spending within the state of Texas: 1. Stopping the upward trend of state expenditures for welfare. 2.Prohibiting the use of state funds for soliciting welfare recipients. 3.Establishing a local citizens committee appointed by commissioners court to determine eligibility and/or need of welfare applicants. 4.All welfare costs to be charged to U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. 5.Requiring all able bodied recipients of welfare assistance to work for local government units that their labor valued at minimum prevailing wages for the local area earns the value of the products or payments received. 6.Requiring county clerks to keep a record of the names of those recommending individuals for welfare assistance. 7.Maintaining the names of all those receiving public welfare in the county clerk’s office as a matter of public record. 8.Limiting all public welfare assistance and free schooling for their children to United States citizens. 9.Providing public welfare to dependent children only in ways which will discourage illegitimacy. 10.Making persons ineligible for unemployment compensation from any state if jobs are available at the person’s point of residence. 11.Preventing recipients of old age assistance payments from having their benefits reduced because of their earnings from other sources. 12.Unemployment checks be picked up and signed for by recipient at the office nearest his legal address, with no out of state mailings. 13.A decrease in welfare budget of 10% each year for four years, using 1978 budget as a norm. Assistance to the elderly, the blind and the disabled should not be reduced and should prohibit the use of tax monies for abortions. THE TEXAS OBSERVER 13