I live and work smack dab in the area of the freeze damage.  This is the third ag state of emergency we have had in less than 12 months.  Last spring we had severe flooding resulting in declaration number one.  In the summer we had a severe heat wave resulting in declaration number two.  The heat wave was so bad that the dairy cows were dieing at such a high rate the rendering plants couldn't keep up and emergency rules were put in place allow them to be put into land fills to stop the possibility of disease.

The freeze not only damaged citrus but also hurt strawberries, lettuce, avacodos, and other crops.  The damage to citrus will go beyond the loss of citrus this year.  Many of the young trees will be too damaged to make it and will have to be removed.  Many will die outright.  The new trees that are planted in their place will take a few years before they are mature enough to have the yields to make money for the farmers.  The intitial estimate is looking at 1 billion dollars in crop losses.  Many of the packing operations just let their workers go.  All the support jobs that are being lost will severely hurt the economy.  Imagine if your area was hit with a 1 billion dollar instant loss in one industry.  Imagine the supporting industries that would suffer as well.  Most farmers in the valley are diversified which usually can make the freeze survivable but many of their other crops were severely damaged in the previous two events.  The government will provide some assistance to the grower but much of this will come in the form of emergency loans that have to be paid back.  Crop insurance can help but it will basically keep the farmer in business but won't bring back all the jobs lost or the severe blow to the area's economy.  If the packing plant worker is out of a job, he can't buy from the local furniture store, which means the furniture owner cuts back, and on it goes.

With no crop, the farmer will put off purchases for newer equipment which effects me.  As an equipment dealership, we have to sell equipment to stay in business.  Last years rains and flooding caused some of our customers to leave fields fallow or they lost what was planted.  The crop insurance helped cover their costs but these fields remained unplanted the entire year.  Tractors, disk harrows, cultivators, and planters went unused or were used to a much smaller extent.  They didn't need to be replaced, repaired, or serviced as often.  Now where does that leave me?  Scrambling to cut back where I can and save where I can.  I put off purchases of new computers and other things that need to be upgraded which in turn effects those businesses.

The next big deal here is going to be drought.  We have only recieved 1 inch of rain since May 1, 2006.  Farmers such as my dad have wheat and hay seed in the ground.  With no rain it has been sitting there for a couple months now.  Without moisture this seed will all be wasted.

It is getting pretty ugly out here.  California farm towns already resemble areas of third world countries with 15 people living in one bedroom homes.  1 billion dollars in losses might as well be 10 billion when it comes to the poverty many live in.  Please pray for our area.  We need it.

Of course they also can use pesticides and fertilizers that are banned in the U.S.  So bon appetite!

Bro Sales, thanks for your wonderful post. I don't think a lot of people get it when these types of things happen. Dh and I are from So CA, but we moved to north east OR back in '94, then in '96 we moved to MI. In OR we lived in a small town and most of the people depended on the logging and mills for a livelihood. Well, the tree huggers had their way and now all but one mill is closed, but my parents said it's slated to close. Right now Walmart is the biggest employer in the city near them, plus there's a college. We lived on a farm here in MI for 5 yrs, the landlord farmed the land around the house and some of our neighbors had dairy cows. Well, one yr the wheat and corn crops were not that good and I remember talking to our landlord and neighbors and they were all taking it in stride, but they were a bit worried. The other industry we have in MI is the auto companies. Several in our current ward have been affected by the lay offs and reorganizations of the companies. And yes we have seen the dominoe effect already.

One major thing that has been really affected is home sales in our area. Homes are not selling. A lot are being repossessed.

Not only is produce going to skyrocket, but beef prices too because of the loss of cattle in CO and other midwest states.

They probably hedge with commodity futures. I'm just sure there's a citrus call or a cattle call. They have them on everything.

I'm glad folks are having a good, in depth discussion about this. 

I brought it up because in my mind, this is a clear example of how the government is doing what it should to promote the general welfare of the nation (or an area adversely impacted) in the wake of natural disaster that then impacts the economy.  Can the government do a better job at removing red tape and abuse of the system in the various departments?  Sure they can be better stewards (like Katrina relief going to help rebuild the gambling industry and casinos? oh yeah, that is not something that needed to be subsidized to recover...), but the whole domino effect is what needs to be stemmed and doing nothing really hits the consumer doubley.  In my personal case, we rarely buy oranges or orange juice because it is too pricey as it is.  Now, expect the price to go up by double or triple, am I really going to be incented to buy the products at a premium above what I consider to be out of my price range of affordability?

I feel this is a wise use of funds.  Mitigate the economic hiccup as best as possible.  I'm sure there are some of our group here that don't agree.  Some may feel it is not right for the government to take their money (in the form of taxes) to provide relief to others who have suffered a loss.  (I perused the Colonel Crockett article lundbaek linked) I do not find this to be unconstitutional or socialistic.  I think the very fact that it is a free capitalistic market actually allows for this sort of relief, because of the understanding of how interconnected our economy is to the various stake holders in many industries.  (Back in the day of the Col Crockett article, it was not so, as the economy and nation was very much on a model of non-interdependent industry silos).  In a socialist system, I think that quotas would just not be met, there would be shortages and the emergence of black market for the elite, and there would be no incentive given to recover from the disaster. 

A man works two part-time jobs (both without insurance benefits) to support his wife and two small children.  One night on his way home from work, he's the victim of a hit-and-run accident.  His injuries land him in intensive care for a week and then physical therapy for several months.

A hurricane hits southern Louisiana, damaging or destroying many private homes.  In almost every case, the homeowners' insurance does not cover flood damage.

A weather system with extended freezing temperatures hits California, destroying citrus crops valued in excess of one billion dollars.

An earthquake epicentered in Hollywood damages or destroys many major studios--a severe blow to America's entertainment industry.

A fundamentalist terrorist group launches an uber-sophisticated cyber attack that identifies and shuts down almost all the porn web sites in the United States.

 In which of these situations should the government "bail out" the victims?  Why?

edit:  As I went back and reread these scenarios and questions (and noticied the lack of replies) I concluded that from one perspective, they seem argumentative, and from another perspective, they display a lack of sympathy for those who have been impacted by such disasters.  So I'll offer a clarification.

I really have no political agenda here, and I certainly don't want to divert the focus from helping people who really need help in times of disaster.  My purpose for the scenarios and questions is this:  I don't have answers of my own, and I want to develop a rationale for understanding the government's role in these situations. I promise I'm not digging a pit for my neighbor

-- Edited by Roper at 21:03, 2007-01-20

Roper wrote:

---

A man works two part-time jobs (both without insurance benefits) to support his wife and two small children.  One night on his way home from work, he's the victim of a hit-and-run accident.  His injuries land him in intensive care for a week and then physical therapy for several months.

A hurricane hits southern Louisiana, damaging or destroying many private homes.  In almost every case, the homeowners' insurance does not cover flood damage.

A weather system with extended freezing temperatures hits California, destroying citrus crops valued in excess of one billion dollars.

An earthquake epicentered in Hollywood damages or destroys many major studios--a severe blow to America's entertainment industry.

A fundamentalist terrorist group launches an uber-sophisticated cyber attack that identifies and shuts down almost all the porn web sites in the United States.

 In which of these situations should the government "bail out" the victims?  Why?

edit:  As I went back and reread these scenarios and questions (and noticied the lack of replies) I concluded that from one perspective, they seem argumentative, and from another perspective, they display a lack of sympathy for those who have been impacted by such disasters.  So I'll offer a clarification.

I really have no political agenda here, and I certainly don't want to divert the focus from helping people who really need help in times of disaster.  My purpose for the scenarios and questions is this:  I don't have answers of my own, and I want to develop a rationale for understanding the government's role in these situations. I promise I'm not digging a pit for my neighbor

-- Edited by Roper at 21:03, 2007-01-20

---

I'm holding out for Jack Bauer to save us all!

Farmers made it OK. They lost money but with Insurance and other stuff they will be OK. The workers who were apt to suffer the most are pretty much all back to work. If they aren't working now it is because they don't want to because we actually have a farm labor shortage here. There was enough donations and aid groups helping that the workers who most feared would suffer the most, made it OK. Some were actually bragging to their buddies how well they were living due to the aid. Some tree flat out died due to the freeze and will have to be replaced. This was followed by dry spring leading to wheat crop failures and what looks to be another Ag Dissaster Declaration from the government. On the plus side, dairy is very strong and if the weather holds tomatos and almonds should be strong this year also. Central California is very blessed with ability to grow a wide array of different crops allowing for recovery from trajedy in most cases.

Uh......those grapes probably came via mexico. California grapes don't generally mature until summer. It gets confusing sometimes because those that distribute California grapes may also distribute from other places. Hence the need for country of origin labeling that is not currently required. Berries did well. Farmers coverd the plants with ice to insulate them. Strawberries were exceptionally good.