I’m a little surprised at our community’s lack of reaction to the board of supervisors unanimous resolve to continue subsidizing agricultural landowners under the Williamson Act using our precious, limited county tax resources to replace state funds which have been discontinued for this program.

California has some of the most productive and profitable farmland on the face of the earth. We are blessed with a long growing season, abundant water, and a climate that provides for growing almost any crop known. Far from an industry that needs handouts and subsidies, agriculture has, for a long time, generated a large proportion of the state’s gross domestic output. Its exports, both domestic and international, have created a lot of wealth, capital and employment in our state.

The county supervisors’ good intentions in espousing support for “going it alone” by continuing to pay subsidies to agricultural land owners from County funds are generally characterized by them as necessary to save and protect the county from the destructive effects of progress. I observed that this anti-growth kind of thinking for those of us living in Mariposa County has resulted in continuous higher than average unemployment, low wages, and a lack of opportunity for our young people which results in their having to move away to find work. Generally, what has evolved is a one-industry economy that depends on tourism at Yosemite Park. Since I have lived up here I have seen a lot of problems for that one-industry economy, being interrupted for years by floods and, more recently, mudslides.

Perhaps we need to reconsider our vision for the future. We should ask ourselves if we really want to continue to resist managed, balanced growth, growth we could plan, and tailor to build the kind of community we would all like to live in. Paying someone else’s property taxes isn’t going to get us anywhere except to perpetuate a stagnant, under-performing economy.

Continuing to support the Williamson Act by paying property taxes for people who are privileged to own farmland and perfectly capable of paying their own taxes just doesn’t make sense. Why should we lay off teachers, reduce County services, pay our police officers less than other counties, and make our hard working citizens pay their taxes to support this specific group of landowners.

Following the state’s lead, let’s cancel the Williamson contracts and end this program now, not 10 or 20 years from now, and get this property back on the tax roles. Perhaps then, with the leadership of our county supervisors, we can get to work on improving economic conditions here in Mariposa County so we can all afford to continue to live in our very special part of the world.

William Funke