cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/51826015
Across the US this year, farmers have seen costs soar and the price of their produce tumble as Donald Trump’s flagship tariffs sparked a trade war with China.
American farmers, who voted en masse for Trump last year, are now warning of the worst economic crisis since the 1980s, when soaring interest rates and a slump in exports saw the price of crops and the value of farmland collapse. About 300,000 farmers defaulted on their loans and thousands were driven into bankruptcy.
“We spent a hell lot of time in China building relationships, building those markets,” he said. “And then you basically piss it all away, to be blunt.”
So we give farmers money to encourage soybean planting that we don’t need so they can continue to plant corn.
Then we force everyone to buy ethanol gas that’s bad for the environment, bad for cars, and more expensive than regular gas so we can subsidize corn planting. Or… Used as an artificial sweetener for food that caused health issues. Or… Used as inappropriate feed for cattle.
Maybe we just need to encourage farmers to plant crops people actually want and need.