The Press-Dispatch

The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, May 7, 2014 C-3 OpiniOn C-2 Wednesday, May 7, 2014 The Press-Dispatch Points to ponder—by Rev. Ford Bond Observations by Thomas Sowell Think Big by Ben Carson Politics versus education Cleaning skeletons out of the closet continued on page 3 Special rules for Democrats A woman's perspective—by Mona Charen Playing dirty on pensions Remember poverty? It was once a chief preoccupation of the Demo- cratic Party. Lyndon John- son made war on it. An en- tire ecosystem of federal, state and local programs has been created over the course of the past half-cen- tury to combat it, costing taxpayers more than $1 tril- lion annually. Yet the Democratic Par- ty seems to have forgotten the poor. The proposal to in- crease the minimum wage by a few dollars is trifling compared with the vaunt- ing ambitions of the War on Pover- ty. Sargent Shriver, Johnson's pover- ty czar, predicted that welfare state programs would eliminate poverty by 1976. Throughout the post-Great So- ciety era, Democrats proclaimed that the persistence of poverty was a mor- al stain on the nation. What happened to that spirit? Ev- ery other sentence out of the mouths of President Barack Obama and oth- er progressive Democrats seems to invoke the "middle class," and when they're not promising to help the mid- dle class, they're obsessing about how to humble the rich. In the past two weeks, the left's preoccupation with confiscating thy neighbor's goods has been highlighted by two things: The reception of Thomas Piketty's new book, "Capital in the Twenty-First Century," and the response to rumors that Sen. Elizabeth ("Occupy Wall Street") Warren might run for presi- dent. Both have received the full sec- ular saint treatment, reflecting the pro- gressives' almost mob-like eagerness to lay hands on more of the property of the rich. Not for the poor, mind you, but for the "middle class" (translation: themselves). The great advantage of being a liberal/progressive in America is that you are always judged on your intentions (or stated intentions) and not on re- sults. While the pundits are swooning for Piket- ty and Warren, may we have even a moment's pause to consider how well Obama's brand of progressivism has done for the poor and middle class? Poverty has increased under Obama's watch. It ticked up dur- ing the recession, which is to be ex- pected and was obviously not a result of Obama's policies. But after the re- cession ended and after the first much- vaunted "recovery summer" in 2010 and then the second in 2011, poverty contin- ued to climb. The poverty rate has now been stuck at 15 percent for three con- secutive years. This is a 50 -year high. Enrollment in the Supplemental Nutri- tion Assistance Program (food stamps) has increased by 39 percent. So there are more Americans living in poverty under Obama than under his predecessor. If he were a Repub- lican, this reality would be widely ac- knowledged. It's better to be a Dem- ocrat. Now how is the class to whom the president so frequently panders doing? Jeffrey Anderson of The Weekly Stan- dard looked at Census Bureau data and found that typical American household income has not only dropped during Obama's tenure, but has declined more since the end of the Great Recession than it did during the downturn. Real inflation-adjusted income for the me- dian household fell 1.8 percent during the recession. It fell 4.4 percent during the recovery. Democrats know only one song and it goes: Let's make more people depen- dent upon government. They're croon- ing it vapidly now in anticipation of a Warren candidacy or a Piketty tax in which the treasures of the George So- roses and Warren Buffetts of the world (oh, sorry, my mistake, they're actu- ally drooling over the fortunes of the Koch brothers and Sheldon Adelson) will be widely distributed. But redistribution doesn't bring prosperity. Look around you. Obama has raised taxes on the rich sever- al times (some taxes are buried in Obamacare). In terms of federal dol- lars, we spend $7 of every $10 on send- ing checks to the poor and the middle class. Under Obama, the disability rolls have exploded, removing people from the world of work. Labor force partici- pation rates have declined steeply, and while the administration has blamed baby boom retirements, the percentage of adults aged 25 -54 in the workforce has declined as well. More than twice as many people have joined the ranks of the disabled under Social Security Dis- ability Insurance as have gotten jobs since 2009. According to the 2012 So- cial Security trustees report, SSDI may be out of funds as early as 2015. About 25 percent of the poor in America are working. Only about 2.9 percent work full time. Government largesse can keep people from desti- tution but it cannot provide a ladder out of poverty. Only jobs can do that. A Republican Party alert to its own interests, as well as those of the nation, would pick up the cause of the poor that the Democrats have abandoned. Instead of a disability, welfare or un- employment check, they should find a way to offer a job. Religion in the Future? Since before the days of the Beatles singing "All You Need Is Love," a small yet determined cadre of vision- aries has dreamed of uniting all religions. The key was to find a common core belief that all share and build up- on it. I might have to change my mind due to a recent arti- cle by the former Archbish- op of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. The gist of his article fo- cused upon his conclusion that Britain has entered into a "post-Christian" era and is a "post-Christian" country. Williams wrote that Brit- ain has not [yet] become a nation of unbelievers, but the era of widespread church attendance/worship is over. A recent survey from Whychurch.org.uk seems to echo William's conclusions. The highest percentage of church goers live in Poland [80 percent]; the lowest live in Denmark [9 percent]. Across Europe nations that are predominantly Catholic have the highest levels of at- tendance while Protestants have the lowest. Fifty years ago [1960], church atten- dance in the United King- dom was over 50 percent, with 58 percent of the population claiming to be Christians [that number is at 53 percent today]. What is of critical impor- tance to the church is in spite of a large number claiming Chris- tian beliefs, 63 percent of the population has no con- nection to the Church; the number is almost evenly di- vided between those who have never attended church and those who are no longer attending. The report points to a disturbing finding that one-third of people surveyed have no interest in attending church. In simple terms this means a majority of Brits would be considered secu- lar by definition. This fact alone leaves one to won- der or question the impact Christian morality has upon the population. Another conclusion is a mirror of what is occurring here in the United States. Across the last fifty years, church attendance among young people has declined, while attendance among the older generation climbs. Summarizing the trends in the United Kingdom finds that those trends ac- tually are a compilation of four identifiable aspects of church attendance and af- filiation: the average age of church attendees is increas- ing; the percentage of men attending church is falling; an increasing number of Christians profess the faith without church attendance/ affiliation; and the tendency of church goers to be mid- dle class. What does this mean? The authors conclude that the Church in the United Kingdom is not attracting professionals, young peo- ple, the poor, or men. The article ends with a pithy observation: "If the Church in England was the national football team, we would have sacked the man- ager long ago. A European social study put the UK at the 4th lowest rate of Church at- tendance in all of Europe." The issue is such a hot topic that Prime Min- ister David Cam- eron wrote an op- ed piece in the Writing in the Church Times saying, "People in Britain should be confi- dent of its status as a Chris- tian country." He said, "Christians made a difference to people's lives and should be more evangel- ical about it." His remarks did not go un- noticed and was met with a reply in a letter signed by 50 public figures insisting that "the UK was a non-religious and plural society and that to claim otherwise fostered alienation and division." Though these trends in the United Kingdom may not be as pronounced in the United States, most church- es can affirm the same. There are multiple issues at work here. What needs defined is what is meant by a post-Christian nation? Experts define the term to mean a nation where Chris- tianity no longer dominates the political and social agen- da. Though it does not mean Christianity has disap- peared, it does suggest that the cultural norms are still somewhat Christian, the na- tion is becoming more sec- ular. The question begs ask- ing: "What does this mean for the future? " One Eng- lishman said, "A Christian nation sounds like a nation of committed believers, and we are not that. Equally, we are not a nation of dedicated secularists." Are they some- where in-between? The Christian world has been in this situation before, but has never faced the on- slaught of secularism dis- guised under the cloche of science and reason. The bad With Eu- ropeans in- trigued by America's un- expected suc- cess, Alexis de Tocqueville carried out an in-depth study of the new nation in the 1830s. He was quite impressed with our divided government, which fea- tured the separation of powers. This structure made it difficult for any one branch—executive, judicial or legislative—to acquire too much pow- er and run roughshod over the other branches and the will of the American people. Unfortunately, today we are witnessing a largely unchecked exec- utive branch issuing decrees that cir- cumvent Congress while facing only tepid resistance. In civilian life, when a contract is entered into by two parties, and it is subsequently discovered that one side knowingly presented false promises in order to consummate the deal, a legit- imate lawsuit can be initiated on the basis of fraud. The Affordable Care Act is a prime example of such a con- tract in the form of a bill, which nev- er would have been passed if it had been revealed that millions of people would lose the health insurance with which they were satisfied and that they might not be able to keep their doctors, among other promises. Nevertheless, this massive case of fraud has not been legally challenged by the legislative branch, leaving one to wonder why. We hear a great deal about "Chica- go-style politics." It is nothing more than a euphemism for political corrup- tion, including bullying, blackmail and bribery. These pressures can be just as easily applied to national political fig- ures as to local politicians. Courage can be quite difficult to find when the threat of exposure hangs over one's head. In an age when Big Brother is capable of watching every- thing we do, it is not hard to imagine a scenario in which large numbers of public servants are silenced or sub- dued by secretive threats. I have had an opportunity to witness firsthand how the blackmail threat op- erates. Several years ago, while I was in the operating room, I received a call from one of the legal offices at Johns Hopkins University informing me that the state of Florida was trying to attach my wages for child support. I was shocked at such an allegation and informed them that I have three children, which I already support very ably. They said a woman in Florida was accusing me of being the father of her son, and that she had proof of our re- lationship. The proof turned out to be knowledge of where I went to high school, college and medical school, and where I served my internship and residency. To top all of that off, she had a picture of me in scrubs. I said anyone could obtain such information. Howev- er, the paternity suit was pursued, and I had to involve my personal lawyer. As the case advanced, I was asked to provide a blood specimen to facilitate DNA testing. I refused on the basis of the incompetence of any governmen- tal agency that was willing to pursue a paternity suit on such flimsy grounds. I said that level of incompetence would probably result in my blood specimen being found at a murder scene and my spending the rest of my life in prison. Shortly thereafter, the suit was dropped with no further ramifications. I'm virtually certain that the woman in Florida erroneously assumed that someone who travels as much as I do was engaging in numerous extramar- ital affairs and wouldn't even remem- ber all of the parties with whom they had been involved. Under such circum- stances, she assumed I would be will- ing to fork over the money to avoid pub- lic embarrassment. By Ed Feulner Say you saw a car head- ing down a road that you knew had a bridge out sev- eral miles ahead. You wave your arms and shout a warn- ing, trying to avert a terrible accident. How do you think the driver would react? With gratitude, you'd hope, but you'd at least want the driver to stop and take heed. About the last thing you'd expect is for him to yell angrily, accuse you of ly- ing, then continue to speed down the road. That's the way the Laura and John Arnold Foundation must feel these days. For the past few years, they've been funding research into the health (or lack thereof, to be more precise) of govern- ment-employee pensions. Cash-strapped cities and municipalities are finding it harder and harder to meet their bills. Revenue sources are dropping, and financial obligations are rising. Detroit filed for bank- ruptcy last year, in large part because of its under- funded government-em- ployee pensions. Accord- ing to Moody's, U.S. states and cities face more than $2 trillion in liabilities for such pensions. They're forcing governments nationwide to cut services significantly — and raise taxes. Consider government- employee pensions in Cali- fornia. The average payout for new retirees doubled be- tween 1999 and 2012, ac- cording to the Sacramento Bee: "The largest group of state workers is under a '2 at 55' formula." Under that plan, a government employ- ee retiring at 55 with three decades of service would collect a pension equal to 60 percent of his or her high- est salary for the rest of his or her life — with retiree health benefits added on top. In short, the bridge is out. Something has to be done, but what? The Arnold Foun- dation has published pa- pers that discuss shifting from a defined-benefit sys- tem for pensions, in which your company stipulates how much you'll be paid, to something closer to a de- fined-contribution one such as a 401(k), in which what you get depends on what you pay in, or a mix of the two. Love it or hate it, at least they're considering possi- ble solutions. They're try- ing to find some way to fix that bridge down the road. Their alternatives, they write, "would move plan sponsors toward a financial- ly sound system." Isn't that everyone's goal? Apparently not. Public- sector unions aren't content simply with voicing their dis- agreement with what the Ar- nold Foundation is propos- ing. No, they've been lean- ing on groups that accept Arnold funding — such as public television, the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Brookings Institution — to renounce the money. (The Heritage Foundation, which I served as president for 36 years, has never received any Arnold donations.) According to a recent arti- cle in The Wall Street Jour- nal: "The unions argue that the Arnold Foundation is trying to sway public opin- ion to support replacing public pensions — which give workers including po- lice, firefighters and teach- ers guaranteed benefits at retirement — with defined- contribution accounts simi- lar to 401(k)s, or hybrid ap- continued on page 3 continued on page 3 Of all the cynical frauds of the Obama ad- ministration, few are so despicable as sac- rificing the education of poor and minori- ty children to the interests of the teachers' unions. Attorney General Eric Holder's attempt to suppress the spread of charter schools in Louisiana was just one of the signs of that cynicism. His nationwide threats of legal action against schools that discipline more black students than he thinks they should are at least as damaging. Charter schools are hated by teachers' unions and by much of the educational es- tablishment in general. They seem to be es- pecially hated when they succeed in educat- ing minority children whom the education- al establishment says cannot be educated. Apparently it can be done when you don't have to hire unionized teachers with iron-clad tenure, and when you don't have to follow the dogmas in vogue in the educational establish- ment. Last year, there was an attempt to shut down the American Indian Model Schools in Oakland, California—schools that had been ranked among the top schools in the nation, schools with the top test scores in their district and the fourth highest scores in the entire state of California. The reason given was that the former— repeat, FORMER—head of these schools was accused of financial irregularities. Since there are courts of law to determine news is that a lot of people have not heard of Christian- ity, or they have abandoned it as being irrelevant. The good news is a lot of people have not heard of Christian- ity, or they have abandoned it as being irrelevant. The commission of the church remains the same and Luke still encourages the faithful: "And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." The commission remains "Go into the world and make disciples! " Think about it! proaches." Perhaps I'm missing something, but when did it become out of bounds to try and "sway public opinion" in this country? Isn't that the whole point of free speech? How instructive that the unions are reacting this way. It speaks volumes about how much confidence they have in their position that the cur- rent pension system is work- ing just fine, thank you very much. Of course, the current system isn't just fine, and you can bet the unions know no one can argue with a straight face that it is. Oth- erwise, that's what they'd be doing. Instead, they're re- sorting to thug tactics, such as intimidation — a smart (if indefensible) move when you don't have the facts on your side. The facts plainly indi- cate that something has to be done. Silencing the Ar- nold Foundation won't mag- ically make it so that cit- ies and states won't have to cut pensions down the road when their financial situ- ation becomes untenable. Just ask the Detroit employ- ees whose pensions are be- ing cut in bankruptcy pro- ceedings. If the government-em- ployee unions think that the Arnold Foundation is that far off base, I have just one ques- tion: What's their solution? Ed Feulner is founder of the Heritage Foundation (heri- tage.org). What she didn't know is that I did not have to scratch my head and try to remem- ber which affair she repre- sented, because I know that the only woman I have ever slept with in my life is my wife. Even if that had not been the case, I think con- fession and dealing with the consequences would have been the best course of ac- tion. In the early history of America, Treasury Secre- tary Alexander Hamilton was seduced by the wife of a political enemy with the in- tention of blackmailing him into complying with their wishes. Hamilton public- ly confessed his transgres- sion, and the public forgave him, completely thwarting the plans of his adversaries. I think the American peo- ple are just as forgiving to- day if people are willing to be honest. With so much at stake regarding our coun- try's future, I think now would be an excellent time to come clean for all nation- al public figures who have been threatened by Chi- cago-style politics or who know that there are skele- tons in their closets. If it were all done in a short time span, the media would be overwhelmed, and the people would quickly un- derstand the extent of the disgusting and dishonest practices infesting the high- est levels of government. Importantly, our public of- ficials would be able to act with courage and conviction to rectify the corrupt prac- tices that are all too readi- ly ignored and that threat- en the moral fabric of our na- tion. I am confident that the American people would be both forgiving and grateful for the willingness of pub- lic figures to take a risk to preserve the American way of life. Ben S. Carson is professor emeritus of neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University. H Politics vs. education H Skeletons H Future religion? H Playing dirty continued from page 2 continued from page 2 continued from page 2 continued from page 2 the guilt or innocence of in- dividuals, why should school children be punished by having their schools shut down, immediately and per- manently, before any court even held a trial? Fortunately, a court order prevented this planned vin- dictive closing of this high- ly successful charter school with minority students. But the attempt shows the an- imus and the cynical dis- regard of the education of children who have few oth- er places to get a compara- ble education. Attorney General Hold- er's threats of legal action against schools where mi- nority students are disci- plined more often than he wants are a much more sweeping and damaging blow to the education of poor and minority students across the country. Among the biggest obsta- cles to educating children in many ghetto schools are dis- ruptive students whose an- tics, threats and violence can make education virtual- ly impossible. If only 10 per- cent of the students are this way, that sacrifices the ed- ucation of the other 90 per- cent. The idea that Eric Hold- er, or anybody else, can sit in Washington and determine how many disciplinary ac- tions against individual stu- dents are warranted or un- warranted in schools across the length and breadth of this country would be laugh- able if it were not so tragic. Relying on racial statistics tells you nothing, unless you believe that black male stu- dents cannot possibly be more disruptive than Asian female students, or that stu- dents in crime-ridden neigh- borhoods cannot possibly require disciplinary actions more often than children in the most staid, middle-class neighborhoods. Attorney General Hold- er is not fool enough to be- lieve either of those things. Why then is he pursuing this numbers game? The most obvious answer is politics. Anything that promotes a sense of griev- ance from charges of racial discrimination offers hope of energizing the black vote to turn out to vote for Dem- ocrats, which is especially needed when support from other voters is weakening in the wake of Obama admin- istration scandals and fias- coes. Eric Holder's other big ra- cial crusade, against requir- ing identification for voting, is the same political game. And it is carried out with the same cynical promotion of fears, with orchestrated hysteria from other Demo- crats—as if having to show identification to vote is like a revival of the Ku Klux Klan. Blacks, whites and every- body else can be asked for identification these days, whether cashing a check or using a credit card at a lo- cal store or going to an air- port—or even getting in- to some political meetings called to protest voter ID laws. But to sacrifice the edu- cation of children, especial- ly children for whom educa- tion may be their only tick- et out of poverty, is truly a new low. As someone once said to Senator Joe McCar- thy, "Have you no sense of decency, sir? " Thomas Sowell is a se- nior fellow at the Hoover In- stitution, Stanford Universi- ty, Stanford, CA 94305. His website is www.tsowell.com. criminal Docket Pike circuit court James K. Brown charged with operating a motor vehi- cle after forfeiture of license for life, a class D felony. traffic and misdemeanor Pike circuit court Joshua D. McCandless charged with domestic bat- tery, a class A misdemeanor. Daniel S. Boyd charged with count I operating a ve- hicle with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent or more, a class C misdemean- or; count II operating a vehi- cle while intoxicated, a class C misdemeanor. Carl E. Liggettt charged with operating a motor ve- hicle without ever receiv- ing a license, a class C mis- demeanor. Mark A. Coleman charged with count I public intoxica- tion, a class B misdemeanor and obstructing traffic. civil Docket Pike circuit court Tina M. Roach sues Thomas E. Roach for disso- lution of marriage. Portfolio Recovery Asso- ciates LLC sues Christopher Willis on complaint. Brandon Gene Jackson sues Amanda Jane Jackson for dissolution of marriage. small claims Pike circuit court Joy Buchta sues David Marrs on complaint. infractions Pike circuit court Kenneth Pinkstaff charged with speeding. Dana Sparks charged with speeding and driving while suspended. Alexander Brinson charged with speeding. Justin Drew charged with operating an off-road vehicle on a roadway. Eric Drew charged with failure to register an off- road vehicle. Emma Gutzweiler charged with failure to reg- ister an off-road vehicle. Caleb Garner charged with speeding. Daniel Johnson charged with failure to register an off-road vehicle. Jeffrey Jochim charged with failure to produce reg- istration on request. Jeremy Pride charged with failure to register an off-road vehicle. Chase Adams charged with seat belt violation. Crystal Chaney charged with seat belt violation. Ashley Forbes charged with speeding. Michael Hendricks charged with speeding. Jesse Jones charged with speeding. Anthony McAtee charged with driving while suspend- ed. Jeremy Loveless charged with speeding. Jason Roach charged with driving while suspended. Anthony Darrett charged with speeding. Marvin Boezeman charged with disregarding automatic signal. Court report Katiedid vs... by Katiedid Langrock The five stages of floss Psychologists claim that the five stages of loss are universal • that the same steps of the grieving process are experienced by every single person. And now, after my son's most recent checkup, I can confirm this belief. Who knew that being instructed to brush your toddler's teeth could bring such turmoil? Still grieving the loss of my baby's toothless smile, I'm learning to ac- cept my destiny as a brusher of tod- dler teeth. This new world of baby- friendly fluoride and floss has been a difficult journey. But knowing that other parents have been through the brushing blues gives me the strength to talk teeth and to open up about tell- ing my child to "open wide." May my story bring you peace if you ever find yourself on the precipice of toothpaste practice. the 5 staGes of floss: • Denial. A loud giggle bubble es- caped the moment my pediatrician mentioned it was time to start brush- ing my toddler's baby teeth. Surely, she was joking. Who cares about ba- by teeth? They are placeholders! Baby teeth are the "save the date" cards you send out before the actual wedding in- vitation. They are the fake ID you get in high school. The rolled-up socks you stuff in your training bra. Baby teeth are little more than a promise of what's to come. (If you're lucky.) I told the doctor not to worry. I reg- ularly put apple-berry-flavored tooth- paste on an old Bratz toothbrush and let my son slurp it off. He loves it, of- ten preferring the treat for his "teef" over dessert. So . . . we're cool, right? My pediatrician was not impressed. I had to start brushing. • Anger. Is this lady nuts? She wants me to pry open my screaming, squirming kid's mouth and then actu- ally scrub down every single tooth?! Like, as in real brushing? I decided I needed to hire a new pediatrician. Clear- ly, mine was not licensed. You'd think that some- where at some time dur- ing her 8 million years of schooling, someone would have informed my pedia- trician that toddlers bite. I'm not sticking my hand in there! Any unwanted object gets chomped off. A toothbrush is likely to come back without its head. Which, by the way, is a chocking hazard. Or didn't her "medical" training go over the im- portance of breathing? Fine, "doctor," I'll brush his teeth if you are ready with the Heimlich maneuver. The pediatrician gave me the num- ber of a CPR class. Great. • Bargaining. Unwrapping the new, doctor-recommended toothbrush, I begged to the universe to make this foray into dental hygiene easy on both me and my child. My son is part grem- lin; he's mild-mannered and adorable, but he turns homicidal when confront- ed with water. Remember all those earthquakes in California a few weeks back? Those weren't caused by fault lines. They were caused by my wash- ing my son's face. The earth shook. "Open wide," I said to my son. "No! " "Baby, Mommy needs to brush your teeth." "No! Feeshies." "OK, let's make a deal. We can make fish faces in the mirror if you promise to let Mommy brush your teeth after you're done." He nodded, and we puck- ered up to make fishy faces. "Now open your mouth," I said. "No-o-o- ! " "Yes." "No-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- ! " "Yes," I said, and I forced the toothbrush in- to his mouth, my point- er finger supporting the head of the brush. My son chomped down. "Ow! " I screamed. "You bit me." My son calmly shook his head no. "You bit." This is why I don't shop at flea markets. I'm a terrible bargain- er. • Depression. I'm a terrible mother, I thought to myself. I can't even get my son to do the simplest task. What hap- pens when he's older? What if I can't get him to shower? He'll be the smelly kid in school! How will we survive the stinky teen years? He'll be picked last for dodgeball during recess. He will have to grow accustomed to creepy, solitary hobbies, such as butterfly pin- ning, and lame sports, such as hacky sack. I hate hacky sackers. Seriously, do those kids have any friends? Oh, no! He may compensate for his lack of companionship by becoming a ventril- oquist. His only friend will be a pup- pet, all because I couldn't teach him to brush his toddler teeth. I'm a failure. I have no right being a mother. • Acceptance. Meh. They're just baby teeth; they'll fall out no matter what I do. Like Katiedid Langrock on Face- book, at http://www.facebook.com/ katiedidhumor. U.S. Agriculture by Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture Farm Bill helps to boost economy Rural Americans have always had a strong connection to the land. Since 2009 alone, more than 500,000 farm- ers, ranchers and rural land owners across the country have embarked on record conservation projects with US - DA as a partner. This week, USDA built on those efforts by announcing two new conservation programs that provide pro- ducers with even stronger tools to pro- tect land and water resources across ru- ral America. The Agricultural Conservation Ease- ment Program (ACEP) and the Volun- tary Public Access and Habitat Incen- tive Program ( VPA-HIP) were both established under the 2014 Farm Bill. ACEP, which streamlines several exist- ing USDA easement programs, makes available $ 366 million per year to a va- riety of public and private partners for conservation easements. The ease- ments provided through ACEP help en- sure the long-term viability of our food supply by preventing conversion of pro- ductive lands to non-agricultural use, while simultaneously protecting criti- cal wetland resources. VPA-HIP provides up to $20 million per year in competitive grants to support own- ers and managers of pri- vate lands who want to make their land available to the public for hunting, fishing, hiking and oth- er recreational activities. Expanded access to pri- vate lands provides an additional revenue source for farmers and ranchers and encourages good stewardship of the land. ACEP and VPA-HIP enhance the con- servation practices farmers and ranch- ers have already implemented on their operations. Their efforts have already saved millions of tons of soil, improved water quality, preserved critical wild- life habitat, and helped to protect some of our nation's most sensitive ecologi- cal areas. While critically important, strong conservation practices protect more than just cropland and critical habi- tats—they can also help to boost the bottom line for rural com- munities. A 2013 study com- missioned the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation esti- mates that every $1 spent on conservation programs in the U.S. yields $2.40 in eco- nomic activity by supporting outdoor recreation activities and related businesses. Last year, conservation activities supported more than 660,000 jobs. The new farm bill provides landmark support for conservation, which will fur- ther invest in both rural land and rural economies. In the coming weeks and months, USDA will continue to imple- ment key conservation provisions in- cluded in the 2014 Farm Bill. You can track our progress and learn more about how the new farm bill impacts you at www.usda.gov/farmbill, or visit www. nrcs.usda.gov/GetStarted for more in- formation about ACEP and VPA-HIP. 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