So much of the daily political talk is about impeachment, not many are paying attention to other things. Remember when Trump said farmers hurt by his trade war with China would get government subsidies? Some have too. So far the amount of Trump's farm bailout is double what the bailout of the auto industry cost under Obama.
Trump farm bailout costs more than double the auto bailout that GOP slammed
That $28 billion is more than double the $12 billion that the auto industry bailout ultimately cost taxpayers back in 2008 and 2009, when the Great Recession threatened to sink American auto giants General Motors and Chrysler.
Republicans panned that bailout, saying that "free market" principles should have let the American auto makers to go under — taking with them thousands of manufacturing jobs from the kinds of blue-collar workers Trump has courted.
The article goes on to quote what some Republicans said about the auto bailout. It also points out that the car companies paid their loans back. There is no provision for farmers to pay back anything. Obama's bailout was a one time deal; Trump's bailout seems to be dragging on and on.
Additionally, it seems most of the money is going to big industrial style farmers, not to smaller family farmers.
Bloomberg - Are you a robot?
Half of the Trump administration’s latest trade-war bailout for farmers went to just a 10th of recipients in the program, according to an analysis of payments by an environmental organization. The study asserted that payouts have been skewed toward larger operations and wealthier producers.
The top 1% of beneficiaries from the trade aid received 13% of the money distributed in the first round of payments under this year’s Market Facilitation Program, with an average payment of more than $177,000. But the bottom 80% of recipients received an average payment of $5,136, according to the Environmental Working Group, which analyzed records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
I read in the local news that farm bankruptcies are up here in Pennsylvania where I live. I discovered they're up in many states. Story here: Farm bankruptcies increase nationwide, report says.
I've seen some news stories that say some farmers who voted for Trump still support him even though they're hurting. Being patriotic, they don't mind hurting themselves if it solves the trade problems. I commend them for that; but I wonder how much longer they'll be able to have faith in Trump's approach to trade. How much longer can they hang on with hope? Trump needs a big success with China, but it may be too late for that. China has already found there are other agricultural suppliers. I doubt they'll cancel contracts made with them just to please Trump. The Chinese want stability in the markets. Trump introduces too much chaos.
Seeing where farmers are hurting also raises the question whether he can win in some swing states again. I doubt he can win Pennsylvania again. Meanwhile the national debt keeps going up and up. The top Democrat candidates seem to want to make it even bigger by spending more than Trump; and the two Republicans running against Trump who are fiscal conservatives don't seem to have a chance.
Trump farm bailout costs more than double the auto bailout that GOP slammed
That $28 billion is more than double the $12 billion that the auto industry bailout ultimately cost taxpayers back in 2008 and 2009, when the Great Recession threatened to sink American auto giants General Motors and Chrysler.
Republicans panned that bailout, saying that "free market" principles should have let the American auto makers to go under — taking with them thousands of manufacturing jobs from the kinds of blue-collar workers Trump has courted.
The article goes on to quote what some Republicans said about the auto bailout. It also points out that the car companies paid their loans back. There is no provision for farmers to pay back anything. Obama's bailout was a one time deal; Trump's bailout seems to be dragging on and on.
Additionally, it seems most of the money is going to big industrial style farmers, not to smaller family farmers.
Bloomberg - Are you a robot?
Half of the Trump administration’s latest trade-war bailout for farmers went to just a 10th of recipients in the program, according to an analysis of payments by an environmental organization. The study asserted that payouts have been skewed toward larger operations and wealthier producers.
The top 1% of beneficiaries from the trade aid received 13% of the money distributed in the first round of payments under this year’s Market Facilitation Program, with an average payment of more than $177,000. But the bottom 80% of recipients received an average payment of $5,136, according to the Environmental Working Group, which analyzed records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
I read in the local news that farm bankruptcies are up here in Pennsylvania where I live. I discovered they're up in many states. Story here: Farm bankruptcies increase nationwide, report says.
I've seen some news stories that say some farmers who voted for Trump still support him even though they're hurting. Being patriotic, they don't mind hurting themselves if it solves the trade problems. I commend them for that; but I wonder how much longer they'll be able to have faith in Trump's approach to trade. How much longer can they hang on with hope? Trump needs a big success with China, but it may be too late for that. China has already found there are other agricultural suppliers. I doubt they'll cancel contracts made with them just to please Trump. The Chinese want stability in the markets. Trump introduces too much chaos.
Seeing where farmers are hurting also raises the question whether he can win in some swing states again. I doubt he can win Pennsylvania again. Meanwhile the national debt keeps going up and up. The top Democrat candidates seem to want to make it even bigger by spending more than Trump; and the two Republicans running against Trump who are fiscal conservatives don't seem to have a chance.