Trump bailout pays for his reckless tariffs

President Donald Trump has given the farmers a Christmas present — a promise of $12 billion in bailout payments for the disruption of markets, which caused significant ag losses. However, these bailouts are like taking someone’s Ford truck worth easily $60,000, wrecking it, and then giving the owner a token payment, but not fixing the truck.

While $12 billion sounds like a lot of money, it doesn’t compare to the $20 billion (plus $5 billion more down the road) that Trump gave to Argentina’s president. Who is more important — farmers or a foreign government?

There is no buyout for livestock producers who are also hit with lower prices due to Trump’s tariffs, especially hog producers. The livestock producers won’t even receive a token payment, just a wrecked truck.

The losses to farmers due to Trump’s tariffs are estimated to be over $44 billion, including the loss of exports, retaliatory tariffs, increases in fertilizer prices due to Trump’s tariffs, and the increase in equipment costs due to Trump’s tariffs.

In addition to the devastation caused by Trump’s tariffs, 22 million farmers will face the increased cost for health insurance when the ACA enhanced premium tax credits expire on December 31.

This is the landscape of agriculture for years to come under Republican rule: Trump’s tariffs on exports and imports, medical insurance premiums that are outrageous, and skimpy bailouts that keep farmers dependent on the government, not free markets.

Ann Fields

Lansing