They say this last week of the year is a good time to slow down, stop, and take stock of where we are today. One does it on several levels, the personal, the social, the political, the spiritual.
"Dairy farming is dying. After 40 years, I’m done."
What an incredible article on so many levels! An eloquent description of our present economic system. Things ain't like they used to be, and the new system has been deliberate. Individuals and families in agriculture have been decimated.
In my reading, the War on the Family Farm started with Earl Butz, Republican Secretary of Agriculture 1971-1976, appointed by NIxon, who famously declared, "Get big or get out!" He served on the boards of several agribusiness companies, and he pushed their interests.
It was under Republican Reagan in the 80's, the plight of the American farmer was dramatized in movies like "The River" and "Country." In 1985, Willie Nelson began the Farm Aid series of concerts, which continue to this day, to publicize the farmer's situation, because the news organizations would not.
Now this man informs us today's farm situation is even worse than ever. This situation was brought about by Big Business with a lot of help from Republican administrations, beginning with Butz working to overthrow New Deal Democratic policies that favored the family farmer. through to the Big Ag favoring policies of the Republican administration today.
The Republican governmental policies that have been instrumental in decimating the family farm must be stopped and reversed. The only party able to do that is the Democratic Party. FDR had huge support from farmers because he advocated policies that acknowledged their dignity and favored them over Big Business. If Democrats could get back to that vision they would make great inroads into those red areas we see on the political maps and turn them blue and do some good for those farmers.
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