144 GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 



good return at any price. But it does help on the price side of the farm 

 income equation. There are a great many farmers on the economic 

 border line — they can make a fairly good living when prices are in 

 reasonable balance, but a small drop cuts sharply into the income they 

 have available for living expense and leaves only operating expenses 

 or less. These people are a very considerable percentage of all the 

 independent producers in our entire free-enterprise system. While 

 price supports alone will not solve their problem, I see no reason to 

 think it can be solved without some kind of a sound and effective pro- 

 gram for maintaining stable and reasonable prices for the goods they 

 produce. 



. Measuring results : I have listed six ways in which a good farm in- 

 come and price-support program can serve the interests of all the 

 people. It can help do these things: Prevent depressions, build bigger 

 industrial markets and employment, maintain high-level production 

 of farm commodities, conserve natural resources, maintain reserves 

 for national security, and strengthen the rural community. 



A program that will meet the test I have outlined will cost money, 

 and the returns will have to justify the cost. We may not be able to 

 set up a balance sheet in terms of dollars and balance it every year. 

 But then, that is not the way we have measured the public cost and 

 the returns from the tariffs which we have used to protect various 

 industries, the value of less-than-cost postal rates, and the public cost 

 and returns — investment and returns from railroads, merchant marine, 

 and air lines, and the public cost and returns from the minimum-wage 

 law and social security. 



We do know that agriculture is a basic segment of the economy. It 

 must be highly productive, and permanently so. It must contribute 

 to the prosperity of the Nation, and in turn those engaged in agricul- 

 ture must be able to share equitably in that prosperity. 



I believe we can have that kind of agriculture if we really want it. 

 We won't get it easily or automatically. We won't get it all of a 

 sudden. But we have already made great progress toward it, and if 

 we will work together we can make more progress. 



In my opinion, production and price adjustment with a definite in- 

 come objective must be the core of our united effort, and although I 

 will mention other measures I am concentrating at this time on the 

 core. 



Recommendations: Condensed into the fewest words possible, here 

 are the proposals, each of which will be explained afterward in detail. 



Objective: The recommended program is intended to assure a 

 volume of farm income and purchasing power which it is in the public 

 interest to maintain for the reasons which have just been discussed. 



The standard of support has been established with reference to 

 income criteria rather than price criteria. A recent 10-year period has 

 been selected as the base. Simplicity of computation and application 

 has been a constant aim. 



The recommended price-support standard for any specific commodity 

 does not represent a parity price nor does the composite average 

 represent parity income as those terms are now statutorily defined 

 or commonly understood. This income standard simply represents 

 a realistic minimum below which it is not in the interest of farmers or 

 consumers to allow farm prices to fall and above which I would hope 

 to find most farm prices most of the time. It is the minimum level 



