Farmworkers in Rural America, 1971-1972-Part 2-Who Owns the Land?
Author: Subcommittee on Migratory Labor of the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, United States Senate, 92nd Congress
Date Published: 1972
The Subcommittee on Migratory Labor conducted public hearings in Washington, D.C., during the 92nd Congress on "Farmworkers in Rural America, 1971-1972." The testimony contained within this volume is concerned with the question, "Who Owns the Land?" Not long ago the proud products of rural America were good food and fiber, free men and women, and healthy children with happy futures. Tragic changes have occurred, and are occurring. Today, from the vantage point of many big city mayors, the most consequential shipment from rural to urban America is poor people for the welfare rolls. From the vantage point of small-town mayors, the same shipments mean that once prosperous communities face decay and despair. There are many complex causes for this American tragedy, which is still building and even accelerating. But the largest cause, I think, is the development policies that have equated goodness with bigness, quality with size. These policies have led to the emergence of giant corporations as the dominant force in manufacturing, and a significant and dominant force in this political and social structure of this country. Unless the policies are dramatically reevaluated and changed, they will lead to like dominance of agriculture.
Date Published: 1972
The Subcommittee on Migratory Labor conducted public hearings in Washington, D.C., during the 92nd Congress on "Farmworkers in Rural America, 1971-1972." The testimony contained within this volume is concerned with the question, "Who Owns the Land?" Not long ago the proud products of rural America were good food and fiber, free men and women, and healthy children with happy futures. Tragic changes have occurred, and are occurring. Today, from the vantage point of many big city mayors, the most consequential shipment from rural to urban America is poor people for the welfare rolls. From the vantage point of small-town mayors, the same shipments mean that once prosperous communities face decay and despair. There are many complex causes for this American tragedy, which is still building and even accelerating. But the largest cause, I think, is the development policies that have equated goodness with bigness, quality with size. These policies have led to the emergence of giant corporations as the dominant force in manufacturing, and a significant and dominant force in this political and social structure of this country. Unless the policies are dramatically reevaluated and changed, they will lead to like dominance of agriculture.
