Sure vote for him again
by digby
More on how he’s screwing his own supporters:
U.S. farmers in the Midwest are filing for bankruptcy at levels the U.S. hasn’t seen for approximately a decade, the Wall Street Journal reports.
What’s happening: Low commodity prices have been gouging U.S. farmers’ bottom lines
for years now, exacerbated by increasing agricultural competition from Russia and Brazil. President Trump’s trade disputes, meanwhile, are adding salt to the wounds, as tariffs drive down prices and decrease profit for farmers.
By the numbers:
In the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, twice as many farmers declared bankruptcy in 2018 as during the 2008 recession.
In the 8th Circuit, which spans from North Dakota to Arkansas, bankruptcies shot up 96%.
In the 10th Circuit, which includes Kansas, Colorado and parts of Oklahoma, bankruptcies were up 59%. Together, these three jurisdictions accounted for nearly 50% of all farm product sales in 2017, per the Journal.
Last year, farm debt rose to over $409 billion, with the average size of loans in the 4th quarter reaching $74,190, the highest 4th quarter level in history.
Between the lines: Chapter 12 bankruptcy filings are still below the highs of 2010 when looking at nationwide numbers. But the Midwest is hurting, and even though the Trump administration has been rolling out federal government relief for farmers to make up for tariff damage, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle fear it is only a short-term, partial solution.
I saw a couple of interviews recently with Trump voters in the midwest suffering from Trump’strade war. One was mad as hell and planned to vote against him. But a couple of others were hanging in there, saying they assume he knows what he’s doing because he’s a brilliant negotiator and they wouldn’t dream of second guessing him.
These people know far more about international trade than Donald Trump could ever know. (That’s not saying much since he’s a simpleton on the issue, despite 30 years or more of braindead bloviating about it.) And yet, they “trust” him because they just … do.
I will never understand this no matter who the president is but the fact that these people trust Donald Trump, of all people, is simply beyond me…
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