Milk Prices Could Soar If Farm Bill Stays in Limbo

With the Farm Bill tied up in legislation, milk prices could double, according to a report on dailyfinance.com and aol.com.

That bottle of milk you brought this week, could be double the price if the current farm bill expires with action being taken by the legislature, according to a report on dailyfinance.com and aol.com. The Farm Bill, which was started in 1933, is updated every five years or more. Right now, it is tied up in the legislature and being affected by the Fiscal Cliff negotiations. The New York Times reported if the present Farm Bill expires, the price equation go to its 1949 standard and government would pay more for milk. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said farmers will be in a hurry to sell to the governament, creating a shortage in the stores. It is estimated the price of milk could go as high as $8 from a current average of $3.69.

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Barrows Supports Brown

Letter to the editor from State Representative Jay Barrows.

Dear Editor:  I’m writing to express my full support for the re-election of U.S. Senator Scott Brown. Scott represents an independent voice for Massachusetts in Congress. I can personally attest to his sound judgment, great character, and bipartisan attitude from our time working together at the State House.  Now, more than ever, we need leaders in Washington who are prepared to deal with not only the economic issues facing this country but the military ones as well.  As a Lieutenant in the National Guard, Senator Brown has the background and the specific knowledge we need as our country faces a more turbulent international climate.  Incredibly impressive to me, both personally and professionally, is Senator Brown's attentiveness to the …

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Bielat, Kennedy Square Off to Talk 'American Dream'

Fourth Congressional District Candidates sparred on issues relating to the "American Dream," Including jobs, the economy, education, and health care.

In their second debate Wednesday, Fourth Congressional District candidates Sean Bielat and Joe Kennedy III took center stage in front of a packed room at UMass Dartmouth’s Advanced Technology and Manufacturing Center in Fall River to discuss the "American Dream." Bielat (R-Norfolk) and Kennedy (D-Brookline) sparred on issues related to the "American Dream," including jobs, the economy, education and health care. The debate was sponsored by MassINC, publisher of Commonwealth Magazine and moderated by Michael Goodman, the chair of the public policy department at UMass Dartmouth. Kennedy and Bielat were asked questions from Aaron Frechette of the Fall River Herald News and Taunton Gazette, Bruce Mohl of Commonwealth Magazine and Alan Zarek of…

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Attleboro's Heroux Quits Congressional Race for 4th District

Paul Heroux says he does not have the resources to compete in what he calls the "campaign-industrial complex."

The field of candidates to fill the Congressional seat for Massachusetts' 4th District has shrunk with the announcement early Thursday morning that Attleboro resident and Attleboro-Seekonk Patch blogger Paul Heroux has withdrawn from the race "I am not seeking the nomination at this time because with limited resources there is no longer enough time to put together the sort of professional organization necessary to successfully compete in what has become a 'campaign-industrial complex,'" Heroux wrote on his campaign site. The 35-year-old Democrat was considered a longshot in a race that includes fellow Democrats Joseph Kennedy III (grandson of deceased U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy), Jules Levine and Herb Robinson and Republicans …

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AN INSIDE LOOK

Should We Invite Congress to Our Town?

National leaders should look locally for an example of how to deal with a true financial crisis.

Are you confused by all the talk (or lack of same) on the need for Congress to increase the country’s debt limit?  I am far from a financial expert, but I am having trouble understanding it all just from a common sense standpoint. To reduce it to simple terms, the United States has a debt limit of $14.3 trillion dollars – that’s right, trillion with a “T."  Unless that limit is increased by Aug. 2, President Obama says our country will begin to default on its financial obligations.  Most economists and experts agree this will have major implications on global finances, and result in higher interest rates and falling stock markets.  Everyone from both major parties seems to agree it would be a bad thing. But Democrats and Republicans can’t …

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