The article by Katie Lobosco of CNN is ‘Trump loves farmers, but his policies haven’t always helped.’ The article states that the president is caught up in the war with China and taken up several measures to improve agriculture. He said in 2018 that farmers are great patriots, and they understand that everything they do is because of the country. He promised in 2018 to make it up to them. As a result, the president has paid out over $28 billion in federal aid to help those hurt by his trade war with China. This amount is almost double the final cost of the 2009 auto bailout after the financial crisis. However, as heads into another election, it is not clear whether the farmers are better off than they were before Trump. The Department of Agriculture has reported that bankruptcy filing skyrocketed to 20% in 2019. However, many farmers have stuck him and believe that his trade deals will make the pains from the tariffs worthwhile. They feel happy that he is supporting them and that even if they are hurting now, his trade deals will help them in the long-term.
The president has rolled out Obama’s water rule, and the farmers love it. The Obama rule aimed at protecting waterways from pollution, thus limiting the number of chemicals being discharged into water. Trump’s ethanol policy is frustrating to farmers, though. His tariffs are also hurting since USMCA does little more for agricultural trade, which was mostly tariff-free under the North American Free Trade Agreement it replaced.
Another article by Annie Linskey posted on Washington Post ‘Black farmers say Warren’s plan wouldn’t solve their biggest problem’ provides an overview of why the black farmers still feel that the hopeful presidential Senator Elizabeth Warren’s plan was not going to solve their biggest problem. Among the academics and civil rights groups, the loss of black-owned land is a significant concern. They believe that the racist federal policies have resulted in loss of black-owned land at an alarming rate as compared to Hispanics and the whites. The author of this article has described several criticisms levied against senator warren’s plan. For instance, the black farmers feel that the plan fails to address historical racial discrimination is not only the management but also the loss of black-owned land.
The two articles address the aspect of farmers and how they see politicians and the policies they are implementing or intending to implement. Lobosco’s article demonstrates how the American farmers are hurting under Donald Trump but still believes that the hurting is only for the short-term since the trade deals by Trump will bring them long-term benefits. For Linskey’s article, the black farmer is demanding that Senator Warren addresses the historical racial discrimination in management and loss of land belonging to the black people without which they do not feel confident in her plan. I agree with the side of the black farmers because land issues are very sensitive and should just be used for political expediency. I believe that addressing the historical racial discrimination surrounding the management and loss of black-owned land will address the various challenges facing the black community in the united states.