TRUMP USES 85 YEAR OLD PROGRAM TO HELP U.S. FARMERS

…Very expensive farm equipment

Trump is using government funds to hush his protestors.

The Trump administration announced up to $12 billion in emergency aid to US farmers caught in Trump’s escalating trade war.  These funds are seeking to temper growing Republican dissent over President Trump’s trade policies.

OK, so where did this $12 billion come from?

The plan will rely in large part on a 1933 program called the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), a division of the Agriculture Department created during the Great Depression to provide financial backup for farmers.

The Agriculture Department already spends more than $10 billion annually on a range of farm supports under the CCC, including trade promotion for crops and purchases of surplus farm goods.

My question is that Trump says “The US economy is the best it has ever been!”.  If that’s true, then why are we planning on giving our farmers welfare payments?

Trump says “Trade wars are easy to win!”  If that’s so, why is the US government providing “Golden Crutches” for our farmers?   And what happens when the $12 billion runs out?

Some key Republicans are complaining about the plan which was only being implemented for hushing up a key factor of Trump’s voting base.

Here are some comments from a couple of key Republican Senators:

“If tariffs punish farmers, the answer is not welfare for farmers. The answer is remove the tariffs,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) wrote on Twitter, echoing many Republicans.

“The trade war is cutting the legs out from under farmers and White House’s ‘plan’ is to spend $12 billion on gold crutches. America’s farmers don’t want to be paid to lose, they want to win by feeding the world,” said Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NEB).

This “Farm Aid” is designed to help farmers facing tariffs in China, Mexico and other countries.  These were tariffs imposed on US farm products in response to Trump’s new tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.  It is the latest sign that growing trade tensions between the United States and other countries are unlikely to end soon.

One former soybean farmer in Iowa was quoted as saying that more farmers will be losing their equipment and their farms due to Trump’s tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum.  What you never hear from Trump is that those tariffs will cause the cost of cars, appliances and other household products to cost more.  These are cost increases to many Americans that haven’t had a pay raise in years and are already working two or three jobs just to make ends meet.

White House officials are hoping that US farmers will begin seeing these government payments by September.  The real hope is that the payments will stop any protests by those important farm groups and GOP lawmakers who contend that Trump’s confrontational trade policy is harming American farmers.  And this is all occurring just months before the 2018 midterm elections.

As usual, Trump defended this approach during a speech in Missouri, pleading with the public to “be a little patient” and arguing that farmers would eventually be “the biggest beneficiary” of his trade policies.  Also as usual, there was no explanation as to when and how these tariffs would eventually benefit our US farmers.  It’s all just an experiment that won’t touch Trump, but could ruin many American farmers that already operate on very small margins.

Many Republicans have criticized the administration’s aid package, saying the president should back off his “trade war” and use his “Bully Pulpit” to help farmers regain more access to foreign markets.  This is rather than offering them government welfare.  But as expected, Trump’s only comment was that "using tariffs is great!”

In a series of tweets, Trump lashed out at his critics, saying “every time I see a weak politician asking to stop Trade talks or the use of Tariffs to counter unfair Tariffs, I wonder, what can they be thinking? Are we just going to continue and let our farmers and country get ripped off?”

Trump then said having “people snipping at your heels” complicates negotiations and he urged everyone to “be cool.”  “China is targeting our farmers, who they know I love & respect, as a way of getting me to continue allowing them to take advantage of the US.” the president wrote. “They are being vicious in what will be their failed attempt.”

But there’s no way of knowing just who will win this so called “trade war”, but based on past trade wars, it is seldom the “little guy”.

“This government payment plan is a terrible idea,” Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Former Director of the CBO and a chief economist said, “These programs exist to insure farmers against the vagaries of nature and crop cycles. They are not there to offset bad policy. Two wrongs don’t make a right. It’s a misuse of the programs.”

I am totally inclined to agree with Mr. Holtz-Eakins.

I guess only time will tell.

Copyright G.Ater  2018