&VIEWS

lJevmc concluded our Annual ! lConference with Congress in Washington, D.C., we find an altogether different attitude with the new administration's programs being considered. The age old political game of the opposite party attempting to make the administration look bad in hopes they will be voted out at the next election still prevails. You would think that a country as great as the United States of America would have representatives in Washington with enough guts to place the welfare of the nation above all other interests. This is not the case. The liberals still insist that food stamps, unemployment, child welfare, medicare, social security and other GIMME programs remain untouched. They are against any tax cuts because they need more taxes to pay the GIMME's.

Most of us believe the new administration is showing leadership and, if the programs presented are followed, the inflation will decline, businesses will begin expansion, remodeling and improvement, and unemployment will drop. The pressures of the special interest groups are tremendous and our Congressmen are wetuy of these pressures. Our own industry is pitching with the rest, but our approach is different. For the past two years, during our visits to our Congressmen, we stated we were willing to bite the bullet and take our licks but we fully expected Congress to show fiscal restraint and stop the runaway budget. Congress assured us they would change. They even voted for a balanced budget for 1980 but exceeded the balance by 80 billion. Even though the balanced budget was enacted as law as Senator Cranston put it, the vote for exceeding the budget was also a law which superseded it.

Our industry position must insist that government spending be brought under control.

There is enough positive thinking in theCongressional offices to pass most of the administration's programs. The House of Representatives is against tax cuts and actually favors further increases. Our job is to monitor the voting records of ourCongressmen to insure that they are showing fiscal restraint.

If the federal programs are cut, many states will have reductions in the amount of federal aid and grants for the fun things they do. This is where our job begins. We recognize that police, fire, teaching, government employees, welfare and similar industries are screaming that they need additional funds. (The same song that was played for Prop. 13.) It is ironic that the only opposition to cuts in federal spending comes from those on the GIMME end.

We have been told if federal revenues are cut we can expect additional taxes levied by the state, city and county. Additional gasoline and fuel taxes and a l9o increase in the state sales tax are proposed. The state has encouraged a city employment tax that a city could levy against wages earned there.

All of us must monitor our legislators and tell them when we are unhappy with their performance. Otherwise, we will lose momentum and fall back into the liberal GIMME society.

Wwpa Meeting

(Continued from page 8) registrations were approximately 950, up about 50 from last year. An unofficial traffic count of the traditional jam in the hotel lobby, which always includes many who are not registered, guesstimated that attendence was off 2590.

The bright spot for the members of WWPA, most of whom are lumber producers, was the home repair and remodeling market, noted the association's exec. v.p. H.A. "Bob Roberts. Without that market, he said, "the difficulties in 1980 would have been compounded greatly. "

"Final tabulation of U.S. figures is expected to show nearly 7.9 billion board feet of lumber consumed in that market during 19g0, Roberts added.

"In 1981, the repair and remodeling market will account for g.l billion board feet, or 60go of the volume of lumber expected to be consumed in home building.

"That figure is so high, it's almost mind boggling.

"Forecasting that 1.55 million new homes will be built during 1981, he said that should allow Western U.S. mills to manufacture 16.3 billion feet of lumber, up l0go from 1980's 14.8 billion feet."

Roberts also expects virtually all of the West's production to reach the market during the year. While inventories at Western sawmills may increase somewhat during the months when production is traditionally high, he does not see "but a few million board-foot change in year-end inventories." He described current lumber inventories as "very low, at about two billion board feet."

He expectb Canadian exports into the U.S. to increase about 8.590. Western lumber exports to world markets, are expected to drop l0go from a record-high 1980 pace to 1.8 billion board feet.

While most of the Western lumber industry's figures are expected to improve in 1981, the outlook remains conservative, he observed.

"We broke a lot of records during I 980, ' ' Roberts said, ' 'but they were unenviable the lowest homebuilding months since World

War II; lowest lumber-demand week, month and period since the Great Depression, and records like the most sawmills closed, and more employees out of work than at anv time in most of our memories."

Among those addressing the group this y€r was A. M. "Mickey,' Whiting, current president of the National Forest Products Association, who strongly urged members to .,act positively and encourage your employees, business associates, friends and family to get out in front of President Reagan's program and to support it with letters and telegrams to Senators and Congressmen.

"We may have a few bitter pills to take along the way," he said. .,But this medicine is nothing like the collective economic ills we will suffer, and the drastice medicine that will be required if we continue the old order." Whiting also described the present situation as "what may be the last opportunity to control taxes, increase productivity and get our slack industrial giant moving again." A past president of WWPA, Whiting is the president of (Please turn to page 35)