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Common sense--Not so commonBy Seymour Klierly The old adage "there's nothing common about common sense" often rings true among Washington policy makers. Unfortunately, the lack of such a desirable trait doesn't seem to be confined, recently, to the Potomac. Each summer, members of Congress return home over the July recess to walk in parades, kiss babies, shake hands, and sip coffee at the local coffee shop. This ritual helps keep elected officials in touch with the daily lives of their constituents. I imagine each one of those conversations between electors and electees covered gas prices. Identifying a problem is much easier than accomplishing a solution. The identified problem is that global consumption continues to grow and global production remains stagnant. Someone with a healthy common sense gland would examine this fact and conclude that in order to reduce prices, consumption must decrease or production must increase. Yet the policies that some of our "leaders" have written blatantly avoid this common sense approach. Senator Reid, Speaker Pelosi and their colleagues suggest that punishing companies through additional taxes and regulations is the way to reduce prices. I fail to see how increasing taxes and regulatory paperwork will reduce the price of fuel by one penny, but maybe my common sense gland is getting in the way. The federal judge in Seattle who put a temporary restraining order on USDA's Critical Feed Use policy needs to have his common sense checked as well. Last week this judge, at the request of the National Wildlife Federation and six of its state affiliates, put at risk thousands of ranchers trying to make it through some very tough times. Many ranchers had already signed up for the program, paid their $75 and begun moving their livestock to take advantage of the program. At the last minute, this restraining order put the brakes on this work. However, the majority of my head-scratching on this issue is the result of trying to understand why a national wildlife advocacy group called for the sudden halt of this program. Sportsmen and outdoor enthusiasts helped create the CRP program and convinced landowners to participate. How can the same folks who so abruptly stopped producers from utilizing the program to meet their needs successfully go out and promote the program in the future? These groups want landowners to participate in CRP to ensure a safe and abundant habitat for wildlife. Yet, at a time when many folks around the country are calling on USDA to release CRP acres penalty free, one group openly attacks the very people they are trying to convince to stay in the program. Like I said, it's a head-scratcher. A healthy dose of common sense goes a long way in public service and public policy. I only wish more folks took their daily vitamin. 7/21/08 Date: 7/16/08
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