Thursday, July 22, 2010
Oh, my. More?
Oh, my. More?
*sound of cat trying to cover on a linoleum floor*
hm…
... New Communities, Inc., the land trust that Shirley and Charles Sherrod established, with other black farm families in the 1960’s. At the time, with holdings of almost 6,000 acres, this was the largest tract of black-owned land in the country.
...Over the years, USDA refused to provide loans for farming or irrigation and would not allow New Communities to restructure its loans.
I’ve been among ranching and farming folks going back four generations in three states, among folks who were white, black, Jewish, and Injun; never did meet no one who had a dang thing to do with the USDA—for loans or any other thing. Admittedly, my experience has been limited to The West [and California] and cattle, sheep*ptui*, horses and hay, and things might be very different with row crops in The South…
...The cash (settlement) award acknowledges racial discrimination on the part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the years 1981-85. ... New Communities is due to receive approximately $13 million ($8,247,560 for loss of land and $4,241,602 for loss of income; plus $150,000 each to Shirley and Charles for pain and suffering). There may also be an unspecified amount in forgiveness of debt. ... (Pigford vs Vilsack)
hm… 1985… That’s about 24 years ago, isn’t it. Just about the time some other farmer was sent to “one of his own kind” for help. Funny coincidence, that.
$8,247,560 is $1,375 per acre. Don’t know if that’s a lot or a little for that particular area in that era. $4,241,602 is $848,320 per year for the years cited. Which might sound like a lot, but ‘taint so much when the costs of seed, fuel, equipment, water [y’all pay for water in The South?] etc. are factored in. 6,000 acres of flat farming land is a helluva big area to work.
OTOH, $300,000 for “Pain & Suffering” ... For being turned down for a loan? [If that’s the going rate, I know some particularly adventurous fellas who would never need a loan again.] I wonder if the ‘settlement’ involved any job offers… Just askin’ questions, here; not like I’m throwin’ anyone through a plate glass window…
But wait…
As part of a April 14, 1999 class action case settlement, commonly known as the Pigford case, U.S. taxpayers have already provided over $1 billion in cash, non-credit awards and debt relief to almost 16,000 black farmers who claimed that they were discriminated against by USDA officials as they “farmed or attempted to farm.”
How does one “attempt to farm”? I’m pretty clear on how to fail at farming; just takes some weather year, a coupla bad decisions. Farm FAIL = not too hard :: Farm FAKE = ??!?!??
In addition, USDA’s Farm Service Agency spent over $166 million on salaries and expenses on this case from 1999-2009, according to agency records.
Members of Congress may approve another $1.15 billion this week to settle cases from what some estimate may be an additional 80,000 African-Americans who have also claimed to have been discriminated against by USDA staff.
Wow. That is a pile of our money. And more to come? That’s a heap of discriminating. Or something.
Already, the number of people who have been paid and are still seeking payment will likely exceed the 26,785 black farmers who were considered to even be operating back in 1997, according to USDA. That’s the year the case initially began as Pigford v. (then Agriculture Secretary) Glickman and sources predicted that, at most, 3,000 might qualify.
That’s a lot of folks. And we thought it was just Shirley, waaay back when, and one [1] white farmer; before she changed her ways and realized that race isn’t the issue, class is.
Clearly we’re no longer talking about the Sherrods and their New Communities farm. 26,000 folks is a a good-size town; not a farming group. 80,000 is a city.
But wait; this case seems to have turned into every black farmer the USDA ‘discriminated’ against, evah. We’re talking about folks from all over.
... 14 individuals in Washington, D.C.received payments as a result of the Pigford case. ... [Hawaii 1: Idaho 1; Utah 1 ...]
Not sure what-all is here, but it’s something. Good on Tom Blumer for digging this up. I’d suggest Tom not respond to any listserv invitations and maybe stay far away from busses for a while.
MM1Mike
hm…
... New Communities, Inc., the land trust that Shirley and Charles Sherrod established, with other black farm families in the 1960’s. At the time, with holdings of almost 6,000 acres, this was the largest tract of black-owned land in the country.
...Over the years, USDA refused to provide loans for farming or irrigation and would not allow New Communities to restructure its loans.
I’ve been among ranching and farming folks going back four generations in three states, among folks who were white, black, Jewish, and Injun; never did meet no one who had a dang thing to do with the USDA—for loans or any other thing. Admittedly, my experience has been limited to The West [and California] and cattle, sheep*ptui*, horses and hay, and things might be very different with row crops in The South…
...The cash (settlement) award acknowledges racial discrimination on the part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the years 1981-85. ... New Communities is due to receive approximately $13 million ($8,247,560 for loss of land and $4,241,602 for loss of income; plus $150,000 each to Shirley and Charles for pain and suffering). There may also be an unspecified amount in forgiveness of debt. ... (Pigford vs Vilsack)
That’s $1,375 per acre. Don’t know if that’s a lot or a little for that particular area in that era. It’s $848,320 per year for the years cited. Which might sound like a lot, but ‘taint so much when the costs of seed, fuel, equipment, water [y’all pay for water in The South?] etc.
So far, so good. But wait…
As part of a April 14, 1999 class action case settlement, commonly known as the Pigford case, U.S. taxpayers have already provided over $1 billion in cash, non-credit awards and debt relief to almost 16,000 black farmers who claimed that they were discriminated against by USDA officials as they “farmed or attempted to farm.”
How does one “attempt to farm”?
In addition, USDA’s Farm Service Agency spent over $166 million on salaries and expenses on this case from 1999-2009, according to agency records.
Members of Congress may approve another $1.15 billion this week to settle cases from what some estimate may be an additional 80,000 African-Americans who have also claimed to have been discriminated against by USDA staff.
Wow. That’s a lot of folks. And we thought it was just Shirley, waaay back when, and one [1] white farmer; before she changed her ways and realized that race isn’t the issue, class is.
Already, the number of people who have been paid and are still seeking payment will likely exceed the 26,785 black farmers who were considered to even be operating back in 1997, according to USDA. That’s the year the case initially began as Pigford v. (then Agriculture Secretary) Glickman and sources predicted that, at most, 3,000 might qualify.
Clearly we’re no longer talking about the Sherrods and their New Communities farm. 26,000 folks is a a good-size town; not a farming group.
Not sure what-all is here, but it’s something. Good on Tom Blumer for digging this up. I’d suggest Tom not respond to any listserv invitations and maybe stay far away from busses for a while.
MM1Mike
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{/if}
