‘Trump money’: Americans appear unconcerned as trade war makes US farmers desperately reliant on billions in government assistance

With tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration causing U.S. farmers to suffer major financial hardships, the Administration addressed their woes in 2019 by providing billions of dollars in subsidies. And farmers are hoping that additional farming assistance will be authorized in 2020.

Journalist Dino Rabouin, in a January 6 article for Axios, explains, “Farmers had a rough 2019, even with a hefty subsidy package provided to them by the Trump Administration as relief from the trade war. Chapter 12 bankruptcies rose 24% over the previous year, and farm debt is projected to hit a record high $416 billion.”

Those subsidies, Rabouin stresses, were desperately needed by U.S. farmers in 2019. Continue reading.