Remember the Grange? Maybe not. Maybe you did not grow up in a farming community in the Mid-West. I did not either. I remember the Grange from history class. I thought they were spooky for some reason. They’re not really spooky, although they did meet in secret for a while. And they still carry little farm implements as their symbols. Spooky, but not secret anymore. Not so powerful either. They got Rural Free Delivery passed. They also got the railroads regulated, and a bunch of other things. Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman were members of the Grange.
Barak Obama is not a member of the Grange, at least as far as I know. Neither are John Boehner, Eric Cantor, or Harry Reid. In other words, the Grange ain’t got the pull it once had. How do I know? We ain’t got a Farm Bill yet. For those of you just tuning in, the Farm Bill is that particular bill which authorizes everything from agriculture programs to nutrition support like school food. The current bill expires September 30. With ultra-libs fighting any kind of cut and ultra-conservatives opposing any kind of spending, the folks in the middle are skeptical about reaching a majority and getting the bill passes in the House of Representatives.
The economy won’t fall off a cliff the way it might if Congress doesn’t do the work that the Super-Committee was supposed to do (but didn’t). Some programs would continue for a little while; some would go on for a lot. Some would come screeching to a halt, like help for dairy farmers that are facing ever-shrinking prices per gallon as the cost of feed continues to climb in response to the drought. The fact is that, if we wait, our agricultural system will just be held together with bailing wire and duct tape. Of course, that’s something farmers can deal with.