Salazar fights for family ranches

Since I wrote about today's press release from Republican Senator Wayne Allard, I want to give equal time to Democratic Senator Ken Salazar's issue of the day. Coloradolib is nothing if not fair and balanced.

Salazar put out a press release "calling for the Senate to provide emergency disaster assistance for the nation's farmers, ranchers and rural communities" and questioning the White House's commitment to rural America. "This year, the combination of drought and the effects of Hurricane Katrina have wreaked havoc on Colorado's rural communities... Current estimates show that 2006 will be the fifth below average winter wheat crop in six years - with potential losses to producers of over $60 million. High fuel costs - as high as $3.16 per gallon for diesel in Grand Junction this fall - were especially harmful during harvest time, when agricultural producers are some of the largest fuel consumers in the U.S.. In fact, some farmers are being turned down for additional loans to cover fuel costs because they are already financially overextended."

In general, impassioned pleas for government loans don't do much for me. But this issue exposes massive government hypocrisy. Why do we subsidize an oil and gas industry that is raking in massive profits while letting Colorado ranchers and farmers fall by the wayside?

The photo of Salazar and his brother John is from the Senator's press page.