Sol
25th January 2003, 08:17
In the Inland Northwest, our rural communities are dying. The sawmills that are the lifeline of small towns all over eastern Washington, northern Idaho, and western Montana are closing, taking with them thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in rural economies.
My point is this: invariably, these mills are reporting the major cause for closure is competition with Canadian lumber, which is shipped across the border and sold for lower prices than American lumber.
The mills close, people (few with college education or opportunity for education) are now without income, and these small towns, already a vanishing part of American culture, slip off the map one by one.
All this could be stopped with a tariff. Liberalization of timber would help as well, but the lumber industry continues to lobby for public resources to reap private rewards. Bush's answer to the issue is to leave the border open, and give big lumber a license to clear cut.
What do CI, Norman and the rest of the flunkies think?
My point is this: invariably, these mills are reporting the major cause for closure is competition with Canadian lumber, which is shipped across the border and sold for lower prices than American lumber.
The mills close, people (few with college education or opportunity for education) are now without income, and these small towns, already a vanishing part of American culture, slip off the map one by one.
All this could be stopped with a tariff. Liberalization of timber would help as well, but the lumber industry continues to lobby for public resources to reap private rewards. Bush's answer to the issue is to leave the border open, and give big lumber a license to clear cut.
What do CI, Norman and the rest of the flunkies think?