Frustration Mounts Among Farmers as China Trade Talks Break Down
[quote]The year was already shaping up to be difficult for Midwestern farmers. Incomes have slipped, farm bankruptcies have increased and widespread flooding has inundated the region, killing cattle and turning some fields into unplowable pits.
[quote]Then came Friday’s news from Washington: Trade negotiations with China, long a reliable buyer of Midwestern crops, ended without a deal. Trump raised tariffs on $200 billion worth of imports, and the Chinese were weighing countermeasures. On Twitter, Trump suggested that the U.S. government could buy billions of dollars of agricultural products from farmers.
[quote]But Mr. Ramsey, a deplorable who voted for Trump, said his primary frustrations were with China, which the U.S. accused of reneging on some trade promises, and with Congress, which has not approved a new trade deal with Canada and Mexico. “He can’t do it by himself,” Mr. Ramsey said of Trump. “He needs the support of all the U.S. government.”
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | May 11, 2019 7:52 PM
|
It's very strange to see a thread like this on Datalounge -- I don't expect it to get many responses. But I did grow up on a farm and I come from a family of farmers, so I will make a comment. (By the way, I'm from the midwest.)
Most farmers today were born and raised on farms, and they grew up thinking that farming was a way for them to "be their own boss," but the truth is that they are at the mercy of big agricultural corporations who make most of the decisions for them -- seed, fertilizer, chemicals, heavy equipment -- it's all set up for the companies to make a profit. And the banks and the big companies don't care whether the farmers make it or not, and they couldn't care less about family farms as a way of life. It's only about who makes the money.
Farmers also complain about how much they hate government regulations, but seem to have no idea that the government subsidies and open trade with other countries are what keep their farms going.
Farmers are extremely conservative, both socially and financially. If faced with a situation that basically meant "change or die," most farmers would choose "die." We are going to have a very rough time getting them to acknowledge how climate change is impacting their lives and livelihoods.
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | May 11, 2019 7:36 PM
|
r1 Thanks for sharing that. Though we have threads about the US-China trade war and how that impacts the US farmers all the time here on DL (I know I post an update every couple of months or so), so you might have just missed them. Responses are usually the same - exasperation that these farmers are still supporting Trump and annoyance that the blue states are now basically bankrolling these trade wars in the form of emergency handouts, which are doled out in addition to regular subsidies.
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | May 11, 2019 7:52 PM
|
