More than half of President Trump’s $8.4 billion bailout for American farmers through April was received by the top 10% of wealthiest farmers, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) said in a new study published Tuesday.
EWG said the bailout “overwhelmingly flowed to the largest and most successful farmers,” which left very little money for the mom-and-pop farmers affected by the trade war with China.
The advocacy group said top 1% of bailout recipients received on average $180,000 while the bottom 80% collected less than $5,000 for their trade war-induced financial hardships.
The group acquired that data from the US Department of Agriculture via a Freedom of Information Act request. The data showed bailout payments made through the first two rounds of the Market Facilitation Program (MFP). Through April, total MFP payments for 2018-19 were $8.4 billion.
The Trump administration began administering farm bailouts last year after China halted purchases of soybean. Chinese buyers aren’t expected to resume agricultural purchases in 2H19.
As of Wednesday, the latest round of trade talks between both countries collapsed after a half-day of negotiations. The US trade delegation broke off talks with its Chinese counterpart and is already on its way back to Washington, a sign that no new progress was made, and that the probability of China buying agriculture products from the US has collapsed. China will likely continue sourcing from Latin America.
As a result of the trade war, soybean exports to China have crashed to levels not seen since 2004.
The first of the bailouts, announced in 2018, was approximately $12 billion. As China pulled back even more on US agriculture purchases, the Trump administration rushed to issue a second bailout last week, includes $16 billion and $14.5 billion of that are direct payments.
EWG said 82 farms have so far received more than $500,000 in payments but has left many small farms on the brink of bankruptcy.
The group said the first bailout had been associated with crop production, favoring the largest farmers. The second bailout, debuted last week, would support big farms because it was created to pay per acre, EWG said.
“The bigger the farm, the bigger the government check,” it said. A USDA spokeswoman said aid payments were made based on a producer’s individual production. “The more acres they farm and bushels per acre they produce – the more assistance they receive,” she said in emailed comments to Reuters.
President Trump’s trade-war-driven farmer bailout is a clear indication that the government is handing out free money, picking winners and losers, and redistributing wealth, otherwise known as socialism.
When the government intervenes in markets, they always tend to break something, this time it was the president’s base located in rural America, scattered throughout the Midwest.
The consequences of the trade war are taxpayer-funded bailouts; the consequences of bailouts is an uneven distribution of wealth that has gravitated towards the richest farmers, driving financial hardships for mom-and-pop farmers that could culminate into another farm crisis on par to the early 1980s.
The moral of the story: Get government out of markets!
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Grew up in the Midwest, and saw a lot of family farms being bought up by corporate farms – outside money offered way more than the crops and livestock could, and too many kids didn’t want the long hours of heavy work to keep making a go of it.
Funny how, once most land was bought up, we got the gasohol program – what an amazing coincidence.
Can’t say if it’s the same in other regions.
Yes.
HF probably got ten bucks.
I know a guy who got a BIG check. He raises Corn And Soybean.
We do not talk bad about either here in Misery.
Farming the swamp instead of draining it.
Well, at least the Equifax settlement in January will be a scandal beyond measure
when people find out
the $125.00 checks are shrinking to $1.95 or something like that.
—
Chancellor Warren will make financial just-us happen without a doubt!
These aren’t farmers.
I have a wonderful family of farmers from OK who join us for Bible study Sunday mornings. Drive over an hour and a half to be with us. They are the real deal. Some of the most incredible people I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know in a very long time.
The most senior in our fellowship (84) comes from a huge family of smaller time Kansas farmers and is one of my most valued friends. Grew up without electricity or plumbing, his dad working a team of horses in the fields.
Another, this guy is a walking encyclopedia with a photographic memory of “name, date, occurrence facts” can make anything grow. He specializes in cross pollenating South African succulents to create unique new plants.
One of my thumbs is beginning to turn a fair shade of green. Had my best tomato crop ever this year growing Jet Star tomatoes. Too hot to make fruit now but I’ll leave the plants in the ground in the hopes they begin to produce again when Texas cools off a bit.
I’m seeing a pattern develop here… ?
Wow this is a surprise “NOT”!
When the steel & shipbuilding industry collapsed in the 80’s it was proven that trade regulations allowed dumping of steel product into US markets including federal insurance bond program to support merchant ships built in the US a program that never cost the US tax payer a dime was abruptly ended paving the way for 30 years of merchant ships to be built everywhere in the world but the US . Who benefited , the investor class in the US top 1% , Mitch McTurtles father in law billionaire Chi Com shipping magnet . Then came US auto industry able to only use 20% of US steel and other parts to still call that car or truck American Made . They forgot that steel worker now doing a double shift at Wal Mart can’t buy there truck now so he buys a little Jap truck now the UAW guy is in the unemployment line .
But socialism is alive and well for the investor class and the political class and their government employed minions , $22 trillion in debt and skyrocketing assures that support !
I wonder why cities all across the nation are circling the drain ? Could it be Washington DC destroyed the tax base jobs of working Americans for the support of 1% and those they assure employment voting in congress ???
I read an article recently that said even the Rockefeller Family gets over a million dollars a year free money from the government for one of its farming operations. Yes , according to that article the Rockefellers are Farmers. Hardfarmer are you that Rockefeller?
bb,
i can’t remember his (sam ?) name, but there was a reporter for abc news who was always on reagan’s case–
i remember that he had a giant farm that was receiving govt $–
Our nation has turned into nothing more than grifter piglets elbowing each other to suckle at the biggest taxpayer teat.
I don’t think I would call some of these Fortune 500 companies “piglets”. They are the ones pushing the piglets out of the way so they can get access to the whole sow.
Contrast the 8.4 Billion to these folks with the 16 Billion to Baltimore….