Trump Ag Secretary to Struggling Farmers: Get a Job!

[deminks]

https://www.motherjones.com/food/2019/11/trump-ag-secretary-to-struggling-farmers-get-a-job/

Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue maintains a, well, sunny view of the current farm economy. “I don’t think there could have been a better time to be in agriculture than today, I really mean that,” he recently mused on his podcast, The Sonnyside of the Street. In the latest episode, “Do Right and Feed Everyone,” Perdue chatted with veteran farm broadcaster Max Armstrong. “I’m bullish on agriculture—with the diversity, with the opportunity of e-commerce and direct sales,” Perdue gushed to Armstrong. “People are still fascinated with the way food is produced!”

Armstrong mostly played along with Perdue’s schtick, but at the end of the interview, he started to push back on Perdue’s rosy lens: “What do you say to that younger operator who entered this industry maybe five, six, seven years ago, and doggone it, things have gotten a lot tougher?” Armstrong asked, adding: “This is long, dark tunnel for them.”

(snip)

“What we see happening is what farmers have done over the years—many of them have to have off-farm jobs in order to survive during this period of time,” Perdue responded. In other words: get a job. In early October, Perdue delivered a similar lecture to struggling dairy farmers at an industry expo: “In America, the big get bigger and the small go out…I don’t think in America we, for any small business, we have a guaranteed income or guaranteed profitability.”

(end snip)

Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

[Vinca]

1. If they vote for Trump in farm country this time around we should send in teams of psychiatrists.

[SummerSnow]

3. The coal miners who were promised jobs need that team too...

Trump made promises to them too.

[deminks]

5. and a team of cult deprogrammers.

[tanyev]

2. And agricultural communities are such easy places to find a (non-farm) side job.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

4. GOPer plan in action: provide lots of buying opportunities for big business

GOPers like family farms -- to go bankrupt so corporate donors can buy them up.

See, e.g., Rotten Ronnie.