HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD (HILO)/THE PROGRESSIVE/TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE -- Anthony Pahnke is vice president of the group Family Farm Defenders and an assistant professor of International Relations at San Francisco State University in San Francisco. This column was produced for the Progressive Media Project, which is run by The Progressive magazine, and distributed by Tribune News Service.
“This dismal reality in rural America calls for innovative leadership. That has not come from Trump. Instead, he has, on two occasions, provided bailouts to farmers, mostly to make up for losses that he caused,” Pahnke wrote. “Many small and medium-sized farms have received one-time payments of $10,000, which do little to offset the years of declining income and increasing debt. Meanwhile, four large national operators have each received handouts in excess of $1 million.”