Farmers have been devastated by Donald Trump’s trade war with China and Europe, which destroyed lucrative foreign markets it took years to build. It will take years to rebuild those markets, if at all, if they have not already been displaced by other foreign competitors. The only thing keeping many farmers financially afloat over the … Read more
Above Image: From Der Spiegel magazine cover (June 2020). The U.S. cannot solve its economic crisis until it solves its COVID-19 crisis. There are mitigating measures the U.S. could be taking before a vaccine is developed and becomes widely available, but the Trump administration and far too many governors simply refuse to do it. The … Read more
60 Minutes on Sunday aired a report on the farm bailout program meant to compensate farmers for the damage Donald Trump’s trade war with China has done to their livelihood, and that was before the coronavirus pandemic hit disrupting food supply chains around the world. Family farmers, as opposed to the large agribusiness corporate conglomerates, … Read more
When historians write the history of the politics of our era there will be two great villains identified who were most responsible for the destructive scorched earth hyper-partisan politics that has undermined America democracy: former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, The Man Who Broke Politics, and his ideological successor, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the man … Read more
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue was the guest of honor at the annual Farmfest gathering in southern Minnesota this month. He didn’t realize that he was on the menu. He was booed after joking that farmers are “whiners” who need to suck it up for Trump trade policies. The New York Times reports, Farmers’ Frustration With … Read more