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(April 2)--Politicians talk about trying to fix the economy. They are willing to lower the interest rates, which is somewhat of a help to jump-start the economy. But that is far from a quick fix. Expenses have gotten out of control and particularly for agriculture. Fuel prices are a huge item which in turn has caused fertilizer costs to go through the roof. In our world, high gas prices affect us a lot more than it does the person in the city simply driving to work. Oil companies have reported billion dollar profits, of which they say is only keeping up with the rest of the business world. They keep passing on these higher prices and in turn every item is forced higher. I have been told that our government wants at least 10 percent of our fuel coming from anything other than gas wells or foreign dependency. However, I am told there are lots of areas in the U.S. that we could drill in that we do not--all in the name of protected species to environmental concerns. All of us want to protect the environment. I think the real problem is the gas and oil industry is lining the pockets of all necessary politicians in order to keep ripping off the rest of America. Plus, several of our highest in political power own these gas companies. Most anyone should be able to realize that the easiest way to jump-start the economy would be to lower gas and diesel prices $1 to $1.50 per gallon. But none of them care to do that. I am told that producing ethanol is the biggest joke of all time, as it takes more to produce a gallon than the gallon is worth. I think it is time we demand our government allow offshore drilling and other areas where we have a huge amount of gas and oil. I fear our whole economy is in far worse shape than most of us want to admit. And the problem with the agriculture world: It takes a lot of borrowed money to try to make a living, leaving lots of exposure for any one bad year. Farmers need higher grain prices to survive. However, with this year's big swing in price, you will see a lot more farmers who have gotten themselves into a financial bind for a lot of various reasons all because of this. All the way from hedging grains on the futures and then not being able to make margin calls, to elevators making huge margin calls and unable to pay the interest on these unheard of amounts, or not taking that into consideration when we had operated at such low levels for so many years. If you feel the same as I do--I challenge everyone of you to voice your concerns this next week to every politician you have. They are supposed to be working for you. Editor's Note: Jerry Nine, Woodward, Okla., is a lifetime cattleman who grew up on his family's ranch near Laverne, Okla. 4/14/08 Date: 4/9/08
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