So, the federal government’s plan is to initiate a crippling trade war, apply damaging tariffs on U.S. importers, and then bail out destroyed farmers who have been impacted by these levies with billions of dollars?
What the heck is going on in Washington?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that American farmers will be awarded between $15 and $150 per acre in an aid package that totals about $16 billion, which is in addition to last year’s $12 billion.
Officials conceded that farmers in the southern part of the United States will receive higher payments than others around the country.
“President Trump has a great affection for America’s farmers and ranchers and it’s pretty evident in this program,” Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said. “He knows that they are fighting the fight and they are on the front line.”
More from Reuters:
The average county payment rate is about $95 per acre in Alabama, $87 in Mississippi and $70 in Louisiana. Payment rates were lower in the Midwest, with a $69-per-acre county average in Illinois, the country’s top soybean producer, and a $66 average in Iowa, the top corn- and hog-producing state.
The program covers 29 commodity crops, including soybeans, corn, wheat, sorghum and upland cotton. It also covers dairy and hog farmers, as well as farms that grow 10 specialty crops – including almonds, pistachios, walnuts, cranberries and fresh sweet cherries.
Johansson said the minimum and maximum payment rates were based on an analysis of 10 years of trade data and the amount countries with retaliatory tariffs, including China and India, could have imported.
Democrats are upset, demanding that the president should demand fair trade rather than a bailout.
Two things: Farmers don’t want bailouts because they would prefer trade and politicians should just leave things alone if they are planning to make everything worse.
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