Opinion: Edwards gets rural right
(Madison, WI) Capital Times
Wednesday, June 13, 2007----
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This year, Edwards has done a lot better.
His Rural Recovery Act, which was issued recently by the campaign, is far savvier than the one peddled four years ago by the Edwards camp. It lines up the candidate for the 2008 Democratic nomination with working farmers rather than the big agribusiness interests that his 2003 plan would have aided. It promises that Edwards "will strictly enforce laws against anti-competitive mergers and unfair pricing, and will support country-of-origin labeling laws."
It also pledges that Edwards will oppose consolidation of ownership of food processing companies, crack down on the abuses of factory farms, and make sure that farm subsidies go to farmers who actually work the land -- as opposed to corporate interests and hobbyists.
The Edwards plan puts him in sync with progressive rural groups such as the National Farmers Union and the National Family Farm Coalition on many, if not all, issues. And it displays an understanding of the great challenges facing rural regions, which are often on the losing end of the "two Americas" equation that is the theme of the Edwards campaign.
There are smart commitments to ending predatory lending and other unfair banking practices that are particularly prevalent in rural America, to investing in rural broadband access, and to improving rural health care.
Underpinning the whole of the Edwards plan is a recognition that federal government investments that are labeled "rural" do not always go to farm country and small-town America.
"More than half of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's $70 billion in rural development funds has gone to metropolitan regions, suburbs, and resort towns like Martha's Vineyard," the plan explains. "Edwards will rewrite funding rules to bring resources to needy rural areas."
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