by Dr. Ridgely A. Mu’min Muhammad

I recently asked Georgia Lieutenant Governor Mark Taylor if rural development and increasing
benefits to large farmers be at cross currents to each other? He said, "Yes". It would be
good if there could be a win win situation. However, through the influence of some of these large
farmers over the county commissions of our rural counties their decisions are pulling the whole
county down as profitability for the large farms are going down.

As the agricultural profit margins tighten ( Graph 1),
the big farmers became the predators. With the help of the USDA, the large white farmers first ate
up the land and equity of the Black farmers. Now they keep the whole county as a hostage to keep
their costs down. Large farmers want lower taxes, lower land prices, lower wages because they can
not get higher prices for their commodities. However, to keep their costs low they block new higher
paying industries from locating in their counties.

I asked State Senator Hooks and State Representative Hanaah if county commissioners blocked
programs and moneys from the state that were available to the counties. They both answered,
"yes". There is a large supply of labor and an outside demand for that labor, but the
power structure won’t let industries in.

While the poor are kept poor and vulnerable, in steps a new breed of predators. We attended a
"Predatory Lending Conference" on February 13th and 14th spearheaded by State Senator
Vincent Forte. It seems that the deregulation of the banking institutions back in the early 80’s
has opened the door for a set of predators to come into the Black community and chew up the wealth
and dignity of many of our elderly home owners.

They deregulated the banking industry and the people get "taken to the bank". The
predatory loans are usually made based on the remaining equity in the an older person’s home and are
characterized by high interest rates, balloon payments, hidden fees, unnecessary insurance,
over-collateralization and no regard for ability to pay. When will we learn that America is a
wilderness filled with predators? The "Predatory Lending Bill", SB 70, is a first step of
dulling the teeth of these lending predators.

There is a large demand for credit in the Black community, but those with power keep the cheap
interest loans to themselves and force Black people to deal with the loan sharks. There is a
plentiful supply of capital, but it is artificially kept out of the hands of Black people.

Deregulation and privatization is the rallying cry for politicians owned by big money. California
deregulated electrical power generation and now the people will have to pay through the nose for
electricity.

There was a predictable increased demand for electricity, but the supply was kept artificially
low due to the politics of deregulation.

In my economic classes they talked about the "hidden hand" that drives supply and
demand. That "hidden hand" is the politics of powerful "predators", bankers and
lawyers. The bankers and lawyers have set up a system which forces the smaller predators, like big
farmer county commissioner types, to chew on the weakest of us, while they themselves are being
chewed. Too bad that they can not turn their heads from their slop trough and take a "bite out
of crime".

Peace, Doc