A2o—lancaater Fanning, Saturday, February 27,1982
So.-Central Cattlemen honor Yo
EAST BERLIN Walter and breeders who maintain a 100-head
Nellie Laird, long-time members cow herd on their Dover tarm.
and tireless supporters of the beef Walter has been a director ot the
industry, were honored by fellow Cattlemen’s Association since its
beef producers during the annual beginning and has held various
Southcentral Pennsylvania Cat- offices, including serving as
demen’s banquet, held Tuesday president
evening at East Berlin.
Named as cattlemen of the year,
the Lairds are purebred Angus
Stan Musser, left, captured first place honors in the junior
division of the Southcentral Pennsylvania. Cattlemen's yield
grade contest. Runner-up was Bill Wise.
Walker blames deficit
(Continued from Page Ai)
easy basket. However, if you break
that press and move ahead, you’re
likely to get an easy basket
yourself and go on to win the
game.”
Walker continued his com
parison by stating that the political
opposition to the Reagan Ad
ministration is making their case
early in this election year because
they’re afraid the economy may
turn around later. He said they are
focusing on any nonpositive
economic signs that might help to
create political pressure now
"which may help them survive a
bad situation.”
But, noted Walker, politics is
only part of the nation’s economic
story. He took the seminar par
ticipants back one year and asked
them what was they considered to
be the root of the U.S. economy’s
problem. The answer was in
flation.
Walker pointed out that our
nation had been experiencing a
steady double-digit inflation rate
for “some period of tune” prior to
Ronald Reagan’s inauguration in
January 1981. At the time when
Reagan took the oath of office,
Walker said, the inflation rate in
the U.S. stood at 12.6 percent.
Soon after moving to the White
House, Reagan began to im
plement a series of economic
measures designed to contain
inflation. By December 1981, the
annualized inflation rate had
dropped to the single digits 8.9
percent. And today, the inflation
rate stands at 5.2 percent, Walker
observed.
Walker credited the Ad
ministration for having suc
cessfully dealt with the nation’s
"most frustrating” economic
problem by bringing inflation
under control. Another area where
he gave Reagan an ’A’ for effort
was in his economic program to
decontrol regulated products,
especially petroleum in March
1981.
Rather than watching petroleum
prices skyrocket. Walker said
decontrol stabilized and even
lowered prices just the opposite
of what decontrol critics predicted
would happen. -
Both Walter and Nellie have
ilayed -
Sail another Reagan maneuver
to get the U.S. economy back on its
feet agaui was given Walker’s nod
of approval the controversial
tax cut policy.
"The tax cut policy was put into
place for some obvious reasons.
The tax burden had been born in
this country for a period of years
and was such that it was literally
stifling, choking off economic
■ growth. The average wage earner
in this country was paying 45
percent of take home pay in taxes
of one kind or another.”
In a voice filled with conviction.
Walker explained that as taxes
continued to increase during this
period, the economy slipped
steadily downward. Reagan’s
program, he said, was designed to
stop that trend, to bring taxes
down so the economy could grow.
But this plan found a stumbling
block in Congress, said Walker,
which delayed the tax cut until
October 1981, and then it only
amounted to a 5 percent cut
"which resulted in very, very little
m the average workers paycheck.”
But some benefits did come from
this tax cut program even though it
was delayed, according to Walker.
He noted that during last year’s
fourth quarter, there was a 15.3
percent increase m savings in the
U.S. the very kind of thing
needed to get an economy growing
again because it creates a large
savings pool. More money is then
available to everyone instead ot
the federal government taking it
all to meet its deficit demands, he
said.
Walker pointed to this dramatic
savings increase as a sign that the
basic principle behind Reagan’s
tax cut program is sound. But, the
Jan. 1 Social Security tax increase
robbed the wage earners of any
benefits the 5 percent tax cut
provided, and as a result savings
dropped off.
‘ It’s high tune it we’re gomg to
face this recession, the unem
ployment and the lack of economic
growth that we ought to accelerate
those tax cuts. The lax cut that’s
due on July 1 should be retroactive
to Jan. 1 the one that’s due July 1
next year should be made
retroactive to Jan. * next year to
call sale, helping to organize and
promote the event. Enthusiastic
supporters ot the 4-H program,
Walter has been a beet club leader
tor 14 years, and has lent a hand to
many youth getting started m the
beet business.
The Lairds’ are also active in the
Pennsylvania Angus Association,
helping to promote interest in the
breed throughout the area and
directing the organization's
business and events.
Awards were presented to ten
adults and two junior competitors
with top results in the cattlemen’s
yield grading contest, held in
January.
Hill Holloway, York, lopped the
list with the winning carcass,
beating out runner-up Don Sunday
also ot York. Other winners were
Carlton Jacobs, third; Leroy
Bowles, tourth; and Walter Lau'd,
tilth.
In the junior division, Stan
Musser topped Bill Wise in yield
grading results.
in an election that toliowed the
dinner meeting, John Hausner,
Dover was re-elected to the office
of president, with Walter Laird as
his vice president, and Tun
Livingston, Dover, chosen
secretary-treasurer.
Livingston and Dun Walters
Airville, are two newly-seated
directors on the Cattlemen’s
board, while Bill Holloway, York,
and Ralph Dixon, East Berlin, re
elected to new terms as directors.
Other directors are Terry
Shearer, Abbottstown; Paul
Sloal, York; Charles Sunday,
York’ John Zimmerman,
Marysville; Prank Darcey,
Fairfield; and Paul Musser,
Manchester.
Speakers tor the program ui
cluded Hal Hart wick, who spoke on
wurnuiig callle, Tun Slalkert on
fly management, and a minerals
presentation by Merrill Crone-JB.
get the economic -growth cycle
started early,” exclaimed Walker.
Reasons behind Walker’s en
couragement for a step up in tax
cuts lunge on two factors that are
dampening the chances of real
economic recovery: high interest
rates, brought on in part by high
federal deficits; and unem
ployment. Walker claimed these
factors are linked directly
together, and need to be addressed
as a whole if a solution to the
economic crisis is to be found.
“If you bring unemployment
down by 3 points from, its present
level of 8.5 percent, down to the
level of the early 1960 s when there
was economic' growth in our
country, the federal deficit would
be reduced by $75 billion,'’ ex
plained Walker.
How does' he propose the
unemployment rate can be
dropped to 5.6 percent? According
to the U.S. Congressman, the only
solution is economic growth.
“You can’t create enough public
service jobs, you can’t do the work
at the federal level of creating
employment," stressed Walker,
forcefully. “The only thing that
creates that kind of employment in
this country is growth. And growth
demands the kind of tax policy that,
allows people to keep more of their
own earnings for themselves.”
Walker conceded that economic
growth is being hampered by
present high interest rates.
“There has to be something done
about the deficit 'c.-oic that are
causing the higii iului peUcies.
That’s why 1 expressed my
disappointment with the
President’s new budget which calls
for a $92 billion deficit. What this
says to many people in the
financial markets is the deficit is
heading upward instead of
downward despite talk of economic
growth.”
Walker said that Congress will
k A
year by the Southcentral Cattlemen's Association. Presenting
that honor was association president John Hausner.
Top senior awards in the Southcentral Cattlemen’s recent -
yield grade contest went to, from left, Carlton Jacobs, third,
Bill Holloway, first, and Don Sunday, second.
have to take action to lower the
deficit so that markets can respond
with lower interest which he said
he hopes will be at the 11-12 percent
level by the end of the year so that
economic growth can get un
derway sooner. How?- Several
methods would include ac
celerating tax cuts, trimming the
federal budget, and slowing the
growth rates of entitlement
programs, according to Walker.
Walker said he and his staff have
come up with a realistic budget tor
the federal government which
would have the deficit down to $5O
billion next year, a deficit of only
$7 billion in 1984, and a budget
surplus by 1985.
Walker mentioned the possibility
of decontrolling natural gas as
another method for brmgmg about
growth. “We would have more
natural gas. Much like gasoline, 1
believe we would have a
stabilization of the price rather
than the federal government
rationing the price upward
whether it justifies it or not.
“At the same time, ,the govern
ment would be in a position to
collect a windfall profits tax, which
would help us tremendously in
balancing the budget that’s
Fruit meeting Thursday
LANCASTER The Lancaster-
Uauphm-Lebanon fruit meeting
will be held on Thursday at the
Farm and Home Center, 1383
Arcadia Road.
The day-long program begins
with a business meeting for the
Lancaster Coupty growers at 9:30
a.m. Topics and participants in
clude;
Fruit crop, concerns, nutrition
and soil preparation - C. Marshall
Kilter, Penn State Extension
pomologist.
Fruit tree diseases including
worth about $l5 billion a year. This
would be a growth policy that
produces new revenue.”
Walker called on the seminar
participants to gel in touch with
their congressmen and ask them to
investigate alternatives for
balancing the budget. He warned
them not to believe legislators who
claim they can balance the budget
only through increased taxes and
no tax duts.
"That would be sheer economic
madness at the present tune to do
that because it would choke off all
chances of growth. We'd go back to
the same stagnation we had over
J.he past several years. We’d have
econouuc decline rather than
economic growth.
"You need economic growth, the
country needs economic growth,
and if we can begin to develop
policies that move us toward
economic growth, we can have it.
But it’s going to be up to you during
the weeks and months ahead to
shake off the pessimism and begin
to look optimistically at what can
happen.
"The base of the program is in
place, the opportunity is there, we
need only now to seize the op
portunity,” Walker concluded.
scab, firebhght and cytospora
canker - James W. Travis, Penn
State Extension plant pathologist.
Marketing and promotion - Kay
F. Reiter and Larry W. Wright,
Bureau of Markets, Pa. Dept, of
Agriculture.
Insects and mites - Robert C.
Tetrault, Extension entomologist.
The program will conclude with
a question and answer period on
tree fruits and a discussion of
practices to improve production of
fruits, strawberries, brambles and
grapes.