Trump has sold out the farmers who voted for him -- and now they're racing toward calamity.

[Snarkoleptic]

File this under "The Corporatocracy Will Never Stop Consuming Everything in it's Path." (until it's too late)

https://www.rawstory.com/2019/03/trump-sold-farmers-voted-now-theyre-racing-toward-calamity/

Indeed, a central cause of the spreading farm depression is the increasing monopolization of all the things farmers must buy (from seeds to machinery) and of the markets that buy from them. The big four biotech ag giants, for example, control 63 percent of all commercial seeds sold in the world; four meat processors control 84 percent of the U.S. beef market; and four global traders control up to 90 percent of the world’s grain sales. Our farmers and their families are hurting, but so far, our leaders, including the president, aren’t helping them.

--snipski--

...(tRump) whacked $3.6 billion from the safety-net programs that offer a measure of relief to hard-hit producers when crop prices crash. Revealing his plutocratic core, the cuts specifically targeted programs that benefit small farmers — a deliberate manipulation meant to drive more families off the land and increase corporate monopolization of agriculture.

Not satisfied with intentionally injuring family farmers, Trump added insult by calling the dab of support they get from the government “overly generous.” This from a real estate flimflammer who continues to rake in millions of dollars in government cash and special tax breaks.

Far from stepping up to stop this robbery of farmers, ransacking of rural vitality and rip-off of consumers, Congress and Trump coddle the monopolistic robbers, ransackers, and rip-off artists. To help counter their insanity, join forces with the grassroots power of Farm Aid.

[True Blue American]

1. Not to mention

The tariffs are killing them heading into planting season.

[FakeNoose]

2. Why isn't the Democratic Party reaching out to help these farmers?

Chump turned his back on them, just like we knew he would.

[Vinca]

4. What, exactly, could we do that would be meaningful enough to make a difference?

Republicans control the Senate and will vote as Don decrees. All we can pass for certain is thoughts and prayers. In any case, I'm betting these same farmers who are hurting will join the lemmings and vote for Don again (God sent him . . .remember?).

[Skidmore]

5. We could articulate that we

understand the dynamic of the problems they have and propose ways to help them if they would vote for Dems. SDo you understand why the tropes "flyover country" or "forgotten Americans" had traction in farm country? It's because Dems ceded ground and left nothing but Republican voices. We are starting to do it again, I fear, as I see the attitude that only urban centers are deserving of power sharing and representation. If we want to hold solid governance, we need to include all.

[Vinca]

7. I agree we should be there, but a whole lot of that is a BS meme spread by the media and the GOP.

How do you convince people who only watch a Sinclair television station locally and Faux News nationally of anything? How do you convince people who see their fields flooded because of climate change, but will vote for Trump because God sent him? We need to try, but I'm not very hopeful. You can lead a horse to water . . .

[JI7]

8. these people are voting on their racism. look at the article on Iowa and Devin Nunes' family

bunch of racist hypocritical assholes that vote for steve king and trump while hiring undocumented workers.

[Skidmore]

23. Look at the map.

We acquired two new Dem reps to the House. Now three of our four reps are Dems. We flipped many offices in counties. Now that we have made inroads, you think we should be abandoned before we acquire strength? Kings district is the NW corner, always a conservative area. We need help to hold ground. Grassley and Ernst have been weakened by their support of Trump and his trade policies. King has been weakened by his removal from the ag committee. We can make other gains.

[plimsoll]

43. And we should continue to support the farmers.

But let's be realistic. Most of them will continue to support the GOP. Most of them will complain about liberals giving stuff to freeloaders. Many of them will blame liberals for the impact on farms.

[Skidmore]

44. We stand and tell them

truth about why they are suffering.

[plimsoll]

45. Because it's the right thing.

Just don't expect to be thanked.

[Skidmore]

46. My husband and I

address these issues with farmers we know regularly. Many regret their votes for Trump, Ernst, Grassley, and Kim Reynolds. Hopefully they will follow through on their stated vows not to vote for them in the future.

[plimsoll]

47. I hope so as well, but

we should not count on them. Experiencing buyers remorse doesn't seem to protect most people from making the same impulse decisions they did the last time.

Keep in mind I'm saying we live our values, and we have to be prepared to do so without compensation or reward. Our values include supporting and trying to protect them from predation the same way we try to protect others from predation. We just shouldn't plan on them suddenly realizing that actions speak louder than words.

Motivate our side, but that doesn't include punishing them.

[cstanleytech]

14. If the farmers refused to listen to us for decades what makes you

think they suddenly will now? No, our resources are better spent elsewhere and we should let the farmers reap what they have sown.

[Thekaspervote]

24. farmers need to stop buying gopeee bs. You can't jump in a man whole to save them ...or anyone

[Gore1FL]

25. We refused to talk to them, too.

The 50-state strategy needs to come back and stay.

[uponit7771]

9. They haven't crashed yet, be there when they do and make sure we're first with a contrast in policy

[INdemo]

17. In the 60s and 70s The Farmers were with the Democratic Party

When Jimmy Carter put the sanctions against Russia and would not sell them Grain, when they invaded Afghanistan, the markets went to hell.
It took years to come back. The Farmers voted for Reagan in 1980 and have voted for Republicans ever since.

Farmers could/will go broke but they still wouldn't vote for Democrats.
A local Farmer just had a farm sale a week ago and he is a MAGA Republican and for him "Trump has never had a chance because of the Democrats" even though Trump forced him out of Farming.

[trev]

40. This

has been my argument for years. For reasons I don't fully understand, farmers have been voting against their own interests for decades. They are responsible for many of their ills. Not all the ills; the corporatization of farming and seed production has played a huge role in eliminating the family farm. With so much of the global market at stake, it seems to me that the corporate farm is only going to increase its power. Local farmers just can't compete.

[Hotler]

20. You can not reason or chenge the mind of repugs.

even the farmers. They will always vote to spite themselves just to fuck over liberals.

[notdarkyet]

30. Their bad decisions will come back to haunt them. That is GODS punishment for them

Ignoring the truth. So good luck you all. I wonder how many of you will lose your farms?

[janterry]

3. I have joined a CSA and will work for part of my share

I'm getting one full share for $ and the other share I am getting by working 4 hours a week. My idea is that it's great exercise, it will give us free food, it's organic, it's fresh - I'll be there when they have an excess of whatever so I can buy it, can it, or freeze it.

Plus, I'm putting in a small garden this year - and working there will help me learn more about how to have a better garden .

I want out of big agriculture.

Find a CSA in your area: https://www.localharvest.org/csa/

[Luciferous]

18. That sounds like a great idea! I would love to start a big garden this year but I'm afraid

the massive amount of rabbits in our yard would also love it

I'm thinking I will have to do raised beds with fencing. It will be a good project to work on with the kids!

[True Blue American]

27. F you are close to the border I understand Mexicans can supply

You with barbed wire!

Just joking but I always had enclosed beds and my Son just bought cheap wire to enclose his. He lives close to a woods so has deer, rabbits, coyotes nd those in between, including birds.

I also covered my garden with black plastic, cut holes for plants. No weeds, no birds, no rabbits.

[Luciferous]

37. I hadn't even considered the birds. We moved closer to family last summer and my dad has a

pretty good sized garden so I think I'll have him come over and give me some tips. We've always had flower beds but this will be our first vegetable garden. I also did some research on CSAs in our area and we have some good ones so maybe we can supplement with that.

[True Blue American]

39. I iive in a small city

But we have farms all aound so get a lot of local produce in our stores. Start small,work up. You will do fine.

I asked my son to plant arugula for me. He planted the package. They could have fed the whole city. i had plastic bags full the size of a pillow case!

I just finished snapping green beans. Sre they are not local yet, but really fresh and nice. Asparagus, too.

[SWBTATTReg]

36. Thanks for providing link! How neat, perhaps it will start taking over more and more...I had ...

hoped COOPs (farmer cooperatives) would have done this type of thing but it hasn't happened. I don't why, but I liked the MFA outlets in MO (mostly rural towns) and enjoyed shopping in them.

It has been a given that farmers and ranchers complain about people ignoring them (flying over them, etc. remarks), but it works both ways, have the farmers and ranchers come to the city (they do here in STLMO, the farmer's market in Soulard, is a big gathering of growers and other vendors that come together every weekend). The consumer is always looking for fresh veggies, meats, dairy, etc.

Now I can understand that farmers are already strapped for resources so they can't just pick up and leave for the city. They already are having problems finding laborers in rural areas, especially more so when rump cracked down on illegal immigrants, and the economic boom is hitting urban cities (not farms) so young folks are leaving the farms and migrating to the cities (which do have more choices, more 'life', more of everything). Perhaps some kind of joint arrangement where laborers from the cities go out to the farms to help out?

Also, there needs to be an end to farmer subsidies, which aren't supporting the family farm as these bills are intended, but instead are supporting massive no name corporations. This is not what I suspect American taxpayers intended.

[Luciferous]

38. Yeah, I don't mind subsidies going to small family farms but the corporate welfare needs to stop.

[TheBlackAdder]

6. ADM, Cargill, DuPont Pioneer & Monsanto will buy them at 10 cents on dollar. Mission Accomplished!

[safeinOhio]

10. Not only the small farmer.

Consumers are being raped too. The price of tofu, cereal and beef keeps going up for us while the wholesale prices drop like a rock.

[Honeycombe8]

11. The farmers disagree.

A local farmer (he looked wealthy...not a small local country-type farmer) was on tv and said pain up front is fine, since the end game will make things better for them.

And let's not forget that Trump gave them handouts to help them.

This is the age of Trump. Even when Trumpers experience bad things, they think it's good.

[Wounded Bear]

21. Yeah, just like Christianity...suffer now, get your reward later (after you die).

[True Blue American]

29. Helped the wealthy farmers

Those just hanging on not so much.

[notdarkyet]

32. Taking away food stamps.

[James48]

12. We need "A 7% solution".

New law:

No individual, corporation, or other type of entity may own, control, or voting power over more than 7% of anything.

Not more than 7% of the stock.

Not more than 7% of the market share.

If the ownship or marketshare exceeds 7% for two consecutive quarters, or more than 10% at any time, a clock is triggered to spilt up, divest, spin off or break up the entity into pieces smaller than 5% ownship/influence/voting share.

Monopolies must be broken apart.

[LiberalArkie]

13. No one shall own more than 7% of the reusable space launch vehicles?

No one shall own more than 7% of the electrical service in a community, or water etc..


I semi agree, but there will always be monopolies.

[paleotn]

16. Natural monopolies...Not man made...

and natural monopolies should be owned collectively. Thus they cease to be monopolies.

[paleotn]

15. Same for VT dairy farmers up here.....

Just like my kin down south, it's simple math. The cost of inputs rises drastically. The price for output averages flat long term, and in the case of soybeans along comes an absolute moron. Each peak in prices barely pays for the debt incurred from the last collapse. The eventual result is bankruptcy. Selling the acreage or the herd. The end of a multi-generational livelihood. As the grandson of farmers and the nephew and cousin of those who still farm, it breaks my heart.

https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/selling-the-herd-a-milk-price-crisis-is-devastating-vermonts-dairy-farms/Content?oid=14631009

[dlk]

19. How are the Large Corporate Farmers, with Their Enormous Subsidies, Doing?

Laughing all the way to the bank?

[Wounded Bear]

22. Pretty much...

and gobbling up all the small farms as they go broke.

[Freethinker65]

26. Yet most are also racing towards giving Trump their vote in the next election

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

28. Farmers once tended to be Democrats.

Here in Minnesota the Democratic party is actually an affiliated party called the Democratic Farmer-Labor Party (DFL). It was formed in 1944 by a merger of the Minnesota Democratic Party and the left-wing Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party. The Farmer-Labor party, for awhile one of the few successful third parties, was formed in 1918 and promoted farmer and labor union protection, government ownership of certain industries, and social security laws. But the "farmer" part of the party has mostly gone over to the GOP, just like elsewhere in the country - even though the GOP has never done a damned thing for them.

[Golden Raisin]

31. The real test will be to see if they continue

to vote Republican all the way down ballot and for Trump.

[redstatebluegirl]

33. Think about those poor farmers and ranchers in Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri.

First they have the tariffs killing their bottom line and now the flooding is killing their livestock and endangering this year's crops. They may never recover. I know there are people on here who say, you get what you deserve for voting for him, but hey, these are hard working families, some of these farms have been in their families for generations.

Trump is going to get what he wants, corporate farms that don't give a lick about the environment, safety or anything related to the earth and people.

[duforsure]

34. The list of people and groups trumps screwed over

After conning them out of their vote is growing by the day now.

[bullwinkle428]

35. The real calamity will be their vote to try and re-elect him next year.

[McCamy Taylor]

42. Agreed.

[McCamy Taylor]

41. So, were the tariffs really a backhand way to force family farms into bankruptcy?

Would be interesting to see how much money Trump has collected from Big Agriculture.

[Snarkoleptic]

48. I think it's just an example of tRump's intellectual incuriosity,

combined with his lazy pattern of believing the last person he spoke with.
I wouldn't be surprised if he's profiting from it as well.