The sad story of Clem Cornpone

Clem Cornpone is a soybean farmer in rural Iowa. When Donald Trump visited his state in 2016, he drove 200 miles to see him, bought a red MAGA hat, and cheered himself hoarse. He chanted "LOCK HER UP!" over and over (though he didn't know at the time who "her" referred to). Clem listened avidly to Trump's promises of a new era of prosperity for Iowa farmers. Clem was excited and happy.

Fast forward to 2019. Clem needed a new tractor to help him with this year's soybean crop. He called up his local International Harvester sales rep and ordered a shiny new FM-4000A. The sales rep assured Clem that delivery would be made in time for this year's soybean season. Clem got a loan from his local bank to cover the costs.

Early this summer, the IH rep called Clem and told him his tractor was ready for delivery but there was a problem: the price had gone up twenty percent. Clem asked why and was told that because of the new tariffs on imported steel from China, which IH uses to build its farm machinery, he would need to pay an additional $14,000. Clem was perturbed. He did manage to renegotiate his bank loan, albeit at a higher interest rate, and took delivery of his new tractor. He told himself that yeah, it was too bad that the tractor cost more, but the important thing was, President Trump was stickin' it to them Chinamen. He whisted while he worked, sitting on his new tractor and wearing his MAGA hat.

Some months later, Clem was bringing in the harvest when his cell phone rang. It was his export wholesaler--the man who in previous years, had bought his entire crop for export to China. He told Clem that China, in retaliation for Trump's tariffs, had canceled all soybean contracts with the US. Clem asked the wholesaler if there was any other place to sell his crop. The wholesaler said no, there was little domestic demand for soybeans in a normal year, and this year, there were thousands of farmers in the same place as Clem, with a newly harvested crop of soybeans and nowhere to sell them. Perhaps they could be used as hog feed? the wholesaler suggested. Clem didn't have any hogs.

Now, winter is coming to Iowa. Clem sits at his kitchen table, looking at a stack of unpaid bills. His wife is frying up some soybean patties for dinner, the same as the last five days. Clem is tired of eating soybeans. The repo people came and took his new tractor yesterday. Clem doesn't know what crop he'll plant next spring, but it sure as hell won't be soybeans. He tries not to think of how he'll be able to afford new seed and equipment to make the transition.

Clem wanted oh so badly to drive to Trump's recent rally in order to make himself feel better. However, it was 800 miles away, and Clem couldn't afford the gas. So he sits at home, eating his soybeans and watching Fox News. He doesn't quite understand what them sneaky Dems did to louse up his farm business. He knows that President Trump was looking out for him and wonders what happened. No problem, he says, he'll still vote for Trump in 2020.

Maybe.

More made up bullshit from the twisted mind of Der Fuhrer Kevin...

Kevin suddenly has a soft spot in his heart for farmers.  I apparenlty was wrong when assuming that he considers them racist, rural, toothless hicks.

It should be noted that I support farmers and I'm friends with several from Indiana.  

Yes, you support farmers--to the tune of $24b subsidies from your taxes.  Oh, remember when you pitched a bitch about subsidizing GM etc. during the worst recession since The Great Depression?  That was $12b.  We, by happenstance, own 50 acres of farm land which we rent on shares.  "Government payments" is the largest source of revenue this year.

I have a soft spot for anyone who is/was stupid and unsophisticated enough to be taken by Trump's con game and fell on hard times because of it.

Rural counties in Iowa elected one of the worst, most unapologetic white supremacists to Congress-I think it was the 5th district, maybe the 4th. But I am somewhat understanding in that if you grow up in an extremely white area, you might regard black people as space aliens rather than humans. The least integrated areas of the US are often the most racist.

What Trump did to America's farmers was particularly stupid and egregious, given that all he had to do was leave everything alone. I used to say, well, they got what they deserved because most of them voted for the asshole. But then I realized that they lacked the mental chops to resist Trump's scam, and that's not their fault. It's all too tempting to believe someone when they come along and promise you prosperity, recognition, and free beer.

Those subsidies exist because the government doesn't want to let the least efficient argicultural businesses fail--which would result in mergers and consolidations. There would be a few large growers instead of lots of small ones--agriculture benefits from economies of scale. That's why the "mom and pop" store is dying. For that matter, it's why there are maybe a dozen auto manufacturers in the US instead of a hundred thousand.

Farmers have a place in the mythos of 'Murrican culture. That's why your tax dollars go to prop them up. I don't see subsidies for barbershops or auto mechanics--but that kind of entrepreneur apparently isn't worthy of government support.