Results Leadership Group

As printed in the New London Day on 6/5/2009 by Diana Urban

As Gov. M. Jodi Rell continues to throw barbs at those of us in the legislature, I can’t help but be reminded of the magician admonishing us to ?watch the bouncing ball? in order to perform the sleight of hand necessary to complete the trick.

This continual brouhaha distracts us from the real issues of the budget; specifically the most recent iteration of the governor’s plan to balance it. We can argue endlessly about whether this budget is actually balanced.

Rectifying numbers is particularly elusive in Connecticut because we don’t practice Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP.) We ceased using GAAP in the early 1990s and switched to modified accrual accounting as a way to, quite frankly, fudge the numbers. Not exactly responsible, but nevertheless true.

But given a closer look, the governor’s latest budget is very revealing. There are huge cuts in help for seniors, providers of health care and people trying to get off state assistance and back on the job rolls. Even coverage for eyeglasses is cut. And yet there is $10 million in grant money for our long-suffering farmers. You would think that I, being a longtime advocate for our farmers, would be ecstatic.

Well, I am not, as it is a symptom of all that is wrong. Simply giving these grants to farmers is a short-term fix when what we need is a long-term policy that recognizes the importance of farming to the future of our state. Sure, grants will help some farmers get over the hump and continue to limp along trying to make a living, but it won’t solve the problem.

Getting a foothold in Connecticut

As many know I have been pushing the model of Results Based Accountability (RBA) and have finally gotten a foothold in the General Assembly. If we look at this particular issue from an RBA perspective, the result we would want to achieve with farm-relief funding would be: ?Safe, nutritious food for the people of Connecticut through a network of small economically viable farms.?

Yet I faced fights from the administration as I worked to save 14 raw-milk farmers, representing 5,000 acres of farmland, from going out of business because of suggested new regulations from the Department of Agriculture. I also had to fight them on my bill to allow farmers to produce acidified products such as pickles and salsa in farm kitchens for sale at farmers markets. So the administration is recommending $10 million in grants for farmers, while fighting me as I try to help the farmers stay economically viable.

Witness our dairy farms trying to stay afloat when the consumer is paying on average $3.83 per gallon and the farmer is receiving $1.04 per gallon for milk it cost them $1.60 per gallon to produce. What Connecticut needs is a comprehensive long-term policy that includes fighting for our own marketing order instead of the federal marketing order.