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Show Page Utah Farm Bureau News 4 local units of government as well as for persons to depend on their own resources to accomplish most worthy activities. Federal aid should be used only when there is no possibility of doing the job with local effort All information and experience indicates whenever the federal government has subsidized an activity, it begins to dictate conditions of operation. This is particularly true with respect to aid to our public school program. While we claim all units of local government should remain free from federal domination, we most emphatically defend the right of our schools to be governed by the local board. 1974 FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY Accordingly, while we recognize that the Sugar Act has its critics, we suggest any proposed changed to the Act be carefully considered with the objective of protecting the welfare of consumers and of those engaged in the domestic industry. Otherwise, we support the continuation of the Sugar Act without modification. We feel that Sugar Act payments to growers should be increased to reflect increased cost of production. We believe in order to bring inflation under control it will DAIRY BASE PLANS land reform patterned after the lines of Latin American confiscation of private property. We believe agriculture and the nation must awaken to this peril which begins with an assault on farmers markets and can end in the destruction of our market economy. require a balanced federal budget and wage increases geared only to increases in productivity. GOVERNMENT SPENDING PAYMENT IN LIEU OF TAXES We abhor the continuous deficit spending of the Federal We are in favor of payments in lieu of taxes by the Federal Government and insist spending be held in line with revenues. We further feel the President and Congress be held responsible for such deficits and programs be regulated to the extent the budget does in fact become balanced. REVENUE SHARING Government for lands owned by it. The payments to states should be conditioned on distribution to those local units of government where Federal lands are located. Extraordinary benefits and burdens should be treated separately and payments made accordingly. VALUE ADDED TAX Congress passed a revenue sharing bill during 1972 which will distribute large sums of money to all units of local and state government for a period of five years. This was done over the objection of Farm Bureau. We still maintain this to be unwise legislation and will lead to economic dependence of local governments on defunct federal treasury. We should hope at the first opportunity we may use our influence to shift this program to a form of tax credits. In the meantime we call on all citizens to see the money so appropriated to various units of government be wisely used so asto avoid pyramiding of dependence on federal grants. TAX CREDITS would allow a deduction from federal personal income tax liability to be applied to state tax liability. In turn, the states would assume responsibility for state welfare and primary and secondary education. HIGHWAYS State governments should continue to have primary responsibility for construction, maintenance, location and policing of highways. State highway funds should be allocated among categories of highways by state legislatures, with appropriate consideration for rural roads. Within each category of highways, funds should be allocated on the basis of need as determined by objective ratings. As the interstate system approaches completion we urge more emphasis on primary and secondary road improvements. Routes should be chosen to avoid diagonal highways and use of productive agricultural lands where feasible. Adequate indemnity should be provided for reduction of access. state Private interests should participate in long-rang- e y rights-of-waof highway planning. Multiple use highway should be made wherever feasible. Federal financing of highways should be on a basis. We oppose diversion of federal highway trust funds and the use of automotive excise taxes to finance mass transit projects or for other related We of also use tax funds for oppose purposes. general construction. highway Trucks should bear their proper share, as determined by research, of the costs of building and maintaining highways. We favor legislation to provide for proportionate reduction of federal highway use taxes on trucks used on a part-tim- e basis. We favor such increases in size and weight ceilings for interstate highways as may be demonstrated by research and investigation to be consistent with safety and highway preservation, provided states retain authority to fix limits within such ceilings. We urge as much uniformity among the states as may be feasible with recognition to differences in condition. pay-as-we-- non-highw- go ay SUBSIDIES The public should be made aware of all subsidies that are given through government programs, not just subsidies paid to farmers. FARM PRODUCT BOYCOTTS We oppose efforts to force farmers to require their em- ployees to join a union by initiating and promoting a boycott of any product in the marketplace. Produce boycotts deny third parties the right to buy and sell. We will assist farmers affected by such boycotts in their efforts to maintain their markets. Boycotts of agricultural products by labor unions effectively foreclose markets for entire commodities whether or not individual producers may be involved in a whether or not labor dispute-- or hire any labor at all-a-nd unionn. the to want workers join a They represent real threat that only farm produce with union labels will be permitted to move into commerce. Such market pressures can ultimately be directed towards compulsory organization of farmers. We recognize product boycotts as market seizures have assumed many of the characteristics of social revolution directed at destruction of the market system itself. Elements of the boycott leadership have openly called for We prefer base plans developed by individual dairy cooperatives; providing the producer members with decision making power as to production and marketing needs of individual producers and producer organization. MARKETING AND BARGAINING We favor marketing and bargaining organizations as a means of obtaining equitable prices for farm produce. CHECK-OFF- S We favor promotion activity for agricultural commodity organizations and are opposed to governmental promotion. We are also opposed to mandatory check-offthere is no recourse open to the donor to request a refund of money collected from him. We oppose any and all forms of the value added tax. s; CAPITAL GAINS PROVISION We recommend that capital gains provision of Federal income tax be kept in its present form. oppose raising minimum wage for labor. Young people and students have difficulty finding employment where high minimums are the rule. We in- terest, including the following: 1. A strike by local, state or federal government employees. 2. A strike in agriculture or in an agricultural processing plant during a critical period of production or harvesting. 3. A strike to force modification of U. S. foreign policy or of legislation. the enactment or 4. An industrywide strike. 5. A strike to compel an employer to employ unnecessary workers. 6. A jurisdictional strike. 7. A strike against a regulated public utility. non-enforcem- We urge support for national legislation minimum age for farm employment in farm work. that will lower zardous non-h-a OVERTIME WAGE RATES support regular wage rates during seasonal agricultural work periods rather than overtime rates work week. We recommend the beyond regulation exception for overtime in agriculture We 40-ho-ur N We call to attention of American Farm Bureau dairy products are imported into the U. S. without inspection. We think this matter should be carefully studied. We recommend the federal government require that all imported agricultural products be subject to the same inspection as such domestic products. TOLERANCE FOR FOOD AND FEED ADDITIVES Our food supplies must be protected from toxic and carcinogenic materials. However, we feel standards which set zero tolerances for such materials are We support unrealistic and usually unnecessary. for these levels set will reasonable that legislation materials. EMPLOYMENT OF MINORS wage-and-ho- ur continue. LABELING We support proper labeling of foods, fibers and other agricultural products.. This should afford consumers the opportunity to identify imitation products. All products offered to the public in imitation of, or as a substitute for, or in the adulteration of, any farm product or any item processed from a farm product should be labeled to include the names of all ingredients. SOCIAL SECURITY LABOR UNIONS We believe labor organizations anti-tru- st his personal freedom. Therefore, we oppose the establishment of any consumer agency or council having other than advisory powers. DAIRY-INSPECTIO- Many kinds of strikes should be prohibited in public similar CONSUMER PROTECTION We do not believe government can protect every consumer in each of his transactions without infringing upon MINIMUM WAGE STRIKES We favor tax credits as proposed by Farm Bureau which Resolutions Issue We will take a stand to discourage the increase in social should be subject to laws as other groups. security taxes and benefits, and medicare and retirement funds be separated in collection, maintenance and disbursement so the publics social security contributions will be protected. We favor allowing the option of putting the payments equivalent to the social security into proved private retirement programs. SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE We commend the Secretary of Agriculture for his efforts to improve U. S. agriculture income, especially his efforts to raise income through the market place. STRATEGIC RESERVES Recent shortages of certain food items have brought increased pressure for a worldwide strategic reserve of food and feed grains and other basic commodities. While there is wisdom in maintaining adequate reserves of these basic commodities, we do not favor a government owned or government controlled reserve of farm products. U. S. We particularly oppose government-sponsore- d participation in a world grain reserve. We believe suchfora reserve system would place the majority of the burden developing maintaining these reserves on the United States. These reserves would threaten domestic market increased prices and would remove the incentive for production of these vital commodities. If additional grain storage is needed, we favor low interest loans to farmers as an incentive for construction of storage facilities. ap- GOVERNMENT REORGANIZATION are in favor of retaining the approved USDA concept instead of government reorganization under a different department. We RURAL DEVELOPMENT the Farmers Home Administratipn reverse its encouragement of urban development of rural areas through loaning policies and give priority to preserving the agricultural community. We recommend RENT SUBSIDIES AND LOW RENT HOUSING We believe payments to offset low rent housing should be carefully reviewed. We are opposed to rent subsidies. PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING on-far- m SUGAR ACT The Sugar Act has provided the growers of sugar beets and sugar cane with an orderly market for their product for over 40 years while at the same time providing the people of United States with adequate supplies of sugar at prices which have not been excessive. We recognize that the Sugar Act is and has been one of the most successful of any legislative system enacted to support and enhance a domestic agricultural commodity. We recommend Farm Bureau publicize the price spread between the producer and the consumer and the Utah and American Farm Bureau take immediate action to improve public understanding. PUBLIC RELATIONS COUNCIL We recommend the creation of an American Farm Bureau Public Relation Council to maintain liaison between radio and TV networks, national magazines and newspapers and national organizations, to explain Farm Bureaus positions on issues vital to agriculture. For |