Cliche Watch: 'Don't eat your seed corn'

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:24:42 -0400

It is perhaps North Carolina's folksiest cliche: Don't eat your seed corn.

After its latest appearance in Gov. Beverly Perdue's State of the State speech tonight, Dome did a little research in state newspaper archives on the saying.

The cliche refers to the corn used for seeds for next year's crop — it might be tasty now, but you would starve tomorrow. It is generally used by state pols to refer to foolishly cutting a program that will be needed in the future.

A few recent examples:

* In February, Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler called agricultural research the "seed corn" of the industry.

* In January, community college president Scott Ralls used it while telling the story of a nursing instructor who quit teaching to go back to work.

* In November, Wachovia CEO Bob Steel told Perdue at a public forum that education is the "seed corn for everything that's needed for the future."

Among other things, basic research funding has been called the seed corn for future technology; recruits in Iraq and Afghanistan, the future military; open space, future tourism; principal in the escheats fund, future scholarship money; freshmen footballers, future ACC eligible players; fish harvested before reproducing, future food supply; copyright law, future artistic endeavors; and Central Piedmont Community College, the future labor force.

Still, education and agriculture seem to be the most popular references.

In fact, Gov. Mike Easley used the same line in his 2007 State of the State speech.

"Progress is not always about planting new crops, it is often about tending the current harvest and increasing the yield," he said. "Now, having said that, I did bring a little seed corn with me tonight, just in case."

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Cliche Watch: 'Don't eat your seed corn'