Perhaps you read the hyperbolic rant published by former state representative and unsuccessful GOP governor candidate Robert Foster that slammed “Dictator” Gov. Tate Reeves for his recent coronavirus executive order.
Besides opposing Reeves’ mask mandate for 13 counties, the “truth” telling Foster lambasted “Communist Democrats”, “coward politicians’, and “Cancel Culture Liberals”, touted “what’s left of free America”, and named those who might oppose his rant as “Cancel Culture Communist Liberals.”
Interesting how such purveyors of “truth” have to be so vitriolic and damning of fellow Americans. The “truth” itself isn’t sufficient?
But, let’s focus on one small part of the rant, where Foster said, “This is about government constantly pushing more taxes, more fees, more fines, more loss of Liberty, one little bit at a time.”
This is straight out of the Tea Party dogma and appealing in many ways. No-one likes taxes, fees, or fines. However, it paints government as an evil monstrosity conspiring to steal personal liberty rather than a constitutional system of governance controlled by duly elected local, state, and national officials trying their best to serve their constituents.
Intrinsic to the evil government conspiracy theory are government programs – think Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, etc. – that make people dependent on government … and push up taxes and the national debt at the expense of “free Americans.”
How ironic, then, that the conspiratorialists’ “freedom” hero is leading the latest charge to dole out federal dollars and make more people government dependent.
“Government payments to farmers have surged to historic levels under President Donald Trump as the Agriculture Department floods the industry with cash to stem the financial losses from Trump’s tariff fights and the coronavirus pandemic,” reported Politico.com.
It started in mid-2018 with payments to farmers after Trump tariffs on China disrupted farm product sales, but has skyrocketed with new payments due to the coronavirus.
“Farm policy experts and watchdog groups warn the subsidies are growing too big and too fast,” reported Politico, adding “Washington could have a difficult time shutting off the spigot.”
Mississippi conservative Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson touted Trump’s latest subsidies. “I encourage all of our farmers across the state to take advantage of this unique opportunity,” he said on May 21.
From May 26 to July 13, a total of 8,387 Mississippi farmers did, signing up for over $67 million with 51% going to 7,704 livestock producers, 47% to 1,403 non-specialty crop growers, 2% to 52 dairy farmers, and less than 1% to nine specialty crop growers.
Sixty percent of this money comes from the CARES Act and forty percent from USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation. One hundred percent of the tariff-related subsidies came from the credit program. With no funding source, all this adds directly to the national debt.
Oh, one more thing Foster praised in his rant was a “free market” economy. Of course, in a true free market economy there is no government intervention at all, so there would be no government subsidies to farmers or any other businesses.
Hmmm.
As Abbott and Costello said, “Why” is out in left field next to “Because.”
"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set your free” – John 8:32.
Crawford is a syndicated columnist from Jackson.
Sunday, July 19, 2020
Bill Crawford: Are Mississippi Farmers the Next Government Dependents?
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21 comments:
With all of the subsidies, aren't they already?
Don’t you worry your pretty little head about this.
Just keep them checks a coming.
This is business.
You wouldn’t understand it.
Farmers grow our food. Welfare recipients grow more welfare recipients.
This is spot on. If the subsidies cut off, then not only does the MS farm economy collapse, but the national farm economy collapses. This results in thousands of farmers going bankrupt and big farm growing. This will lower prices and increase productivity across the board.
Mmmm yes master can I please have some more cornsoy plastic diabeetus cancer.
Thank you and please brainwash my children to hate themselves and me while I watch sportsball and take my pills.
Crawford is on point this week - both in his 'hyperbolic rant' description of the idiot in DeSoto that tried last year to show us his ignorance and doubled down this week and in his description of the latest farm subsidy.
But this is nothing new, just a new twist on the same thing that has been going on for most of a century: first the New Deal programs, then the paying to not plant, replaced by a disaster loan program that Carter turned into a stimulus program, write off of those 'loans', ethanol idiocy and now today the latest subsidy. And don't even get into the dairy industry. Or the school lunch programs.
US Agriculture does feed the world but its 'farmers' that used to farm the land now farms the programs.
Nothing new here - except of course the ranting from the libertard of Desoto County.
I doubt Crawford has ever sunk up to his panties in Delta gumbo. What the hell does he pretend to know about farming? He doesn't know one soil type from another or how to row straight or when to plant beans or harvest rice. Oh, wait..He read a poem one time by Willie Morris.
It’s tough work to breakdown the thoughts of a Neanderthal, no disrespect to Neanderthals. The guy who can’t control himself in the presence of women other than his wife now reveals that he didn’t crack open his history or economics books in school. Perhaps these are the reasons he got whooped and definitely why he should remain irrelevant in Mississippi politics.
As I've said, Robert St. John writes better articles
. . . and also includes some great recipes.
Billy Crawford can't begin to come close.
(But his goofy rants are entertaining).
American agriculture is literally one of the largest socialism programs in the history of the world. Farmers have been the biggest welfare recipients since USDA was started. One farmer can draw as much in welfare payments as 3 to 4,000 households combined who are on food stamps.
Bill Crawford haven’t you heard, Hemp farming will save the Mississippi agricultural business. I can remember well when we all went from cattle to Emu. Thank the Lord we switched when we did. LOL
Bill Crawford is such a pathetic hypocrite.
A real journalist and an honest person would be raising hell about what is probably the single biggest one time short term scam in American history…the paycheck protection program (PPP).
But Bill Crawford won’t tell the truth about this scam, because his leftist pals all supported it.
And by the way, has Robert Foster said a word about the PPP… a government program that has paid out billions and billions of dollars to companies that were doing fine, some even booming, that didn’t need any help making their payroll.
Using government debt to make sure companies did not have to lay off workers is understandable since a high unemployment depression could be worse that said debt.
But paying out 100’s of thousands, even millions of dollars to companies that suffered no income loss whatsoever, and to companies that even thrived due to the Wuhan virus,
equates to lottery winnings to these business owners…and you can bet the farm these owners will be buying land, condos and other luxury items with their lottery proceeds…while millions of Americans suffer.
So, let us all at least have courage to admit that when it comes to the U S of A, the words Conservative, Free Markets and Capitalism…are all hereby obsolete.
And the deafening silence from these leaders that still have the gall to call themselves Conservatives…means you have hereby forfeited your right to ever say anything about government handouts to anybody,
or about socialism lovers AOC or Bernie Sanders for that matter.
In last couple of years if farmed a couple thousand acres Or so you couldn't lose rain, flood or tariffs you always took home a living.
7:54 - the "last couple of years"?
Check your stats - its the last dozen decades.
In the Carter years, the profit was made through the losses - borrow it and refinance everything..
And don't tell me about that gumbo in the delta, 3:56 - that gumbo made plenty of farmers, and Joh n Deere dealers, and Ford Truck dealers, and everybody else that 'slogged' through it - rich while the rest of the taxpayers were told to feel sorry for them because of (take your pick, not limited to one per year) the drought, the floods, the rain, the heat, the prices, the ......
Jim Eastland was proud of his accomplishments for his buddies, mostly big boys that had 'lots of the gumbo'.
7.33 is right you know.
It’s called the “Mississippi Christmas Tree” sons and daughters of farmers have farming entities in their names to draw off the farm subsidy checks, (while they’re in college most of the time and never having set foot on a combine or tractor”. It’s knowing how to work the system!!!
When the system breaks down , we break down.....
I doubt that writer and comment makers have very little knowledge of farm or other subsidy in that most everything has some sort of subsidy. Do away with all of them it will make things cheaper for a while but it will catch up.
Planes, trains, buses, solar, windmills, banks, farms, oil, tax brakes, ect.
The old saying, when it comes to the government and business, is if it moves tax it. If it continues to move regulate it. If it stops moving subsidize it. That is the governmental approach to everything.
YOU might 'slog through' one inch mud on your way to deer camp in your SUV, but, one doesn't 'slog through' gumbo, 8:35. You call somebody with a tractor and a chain. Shows what the hell you know.
Wasn't there a momentary presidential candidate up around New York who said 'All you gotta know about farming it to sling out some seeds and wait'? That's about what most of you lettuce-heads know. And you wear a cowboy hat that ain't never seen dust.
12:38 is half right. But somebody picks those crops, processes that poultry, drives it to the store and stocks it on the shelf or delivers it to the restaurant, and then cooks it and serves it to you. Since almost none of those essential occupations pays enough to live off of (much less raise a family or go to school), we subsidize employer profits by subsidizing labor with our tax dollars. We have socialism for corporate losses and capitalism for corporate gains.
"Free market for thee but not for me."
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