Randy's Roundup: District 19 Olympians
District 19 Olympians
As the Olympic Games kick off in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this week, two outstanding athletes with ties to Texas’ 19th Congressional District will be among those representing the United States of America. Brad Adkins will be competing in the high jump. He was born in Lubbock, raised on a cotton farm in Idalou, and attends Texas Tech University. Brad has competed in both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the high jump for the last three years, giving him some experience in dealing with the intense competition he can expect in Rio.
Joining Brad on Team USA is Paige McPherson, who currently lives in South Dakota, but was born in Abilene. This will be Paige’s second Olympic Games competing in taekwondo. Hopefully, she will be able to do even better than her bronze medal from the 2012 Olympic Games in London. I wish all of Team USA the best of luck in their events, but I will especially be cheering for Brad and Paige.
Cotton Ginning Cost-Share Program Deadline
As a reminder, the last day to sign up for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cotton Ginning Cost-Share Program is this Friday, August 5, 2016. The Department has stated that the deadline will not be extended. Cotton producers should have received a notice from their county Farm Service Agency (FSA) office to submit for enrollment. If producers did not receive a notice or have questions about their enrollment, please be sure to contact your county FSA before August 5.
A Better Way to Fight Poverty
In the second installment of my series on House Speaker Paul Ryan’s policy proposals, called a “Better Way,” I would like to take a closer look at ideas for how we can fight poverty more effectively. Since the 1960s, Washington has tried to fight poverty by creating more and more federal programs.
The results have been minimal, given the amount of money that has been spent. Any business that spent trillions of dollars to target a problem, but had no broad positive impact, would have gone out of business long ago. As Speaker Ryan points out, “…today in America, if you are raised poor, you are just as likely to stay poor as you were 50 years ago… Our welfare system is rigged to replace work, not encourage work.”
The plan Republican working groups put together to better fight poverty does not call for either increasing or decreasing the amount of money spent. Rather, it calls for spending money smarter, focusing more on community and state programs that are already working. The plan calls for improving coordination among programs and incentives so that individuals are not penalized for working and starting to earn their own money. Rewarding work is especially important during that crucial time when individuals have begun to pull themselves up but are not quite out of the hole. Smaller programs in states and communities, which have the flexibility to adapt to individual needs, often reward work and progress better than one-size federal programs.
Another critical aspect in breaking the cycle of poverty is improving the education opportunities of those who are struggling to find good jobs. There are some impressive state programs that help the unemployed learn new skills and bridge the education gap. When effective services are the focus of funding, more can be done with less money, freeing funds for new, innovative efforts.
Whether it has been ourselves, our family members or a friend, we probably all know someone who has strived to break free from dependence on government programs. Continuing to fund the same programs, in the same way, won’t produce more success and help empower Americans. It is time to expect more from the system by rewarding work and results.