As has been widely speculated, Monday brought news that the Trump administration will provide $12 billion in bailouts to farmers, with an emphasis on corn and soybean growers.
Only a small portion may go to Kansas wheat farmers. Predictably, political dances followed the announcement, with various farm groups issuing statements supporting release of this money.
It’s pathetic.
It’s especially so when the Republican sycophants who represent Kansas farmers fall all over themselves to pay homage to Trump. How about some honest conversations about what this regime has done to American farmers via a patchwork of actions that show little understanding of international trade and so many other issues?
Is there any Republican “representative” from Kansas who will speak the truth about this folly from Washington, D.C.?
How about the damage being done to rural hospitals via the disruptive policies of this administration? How about the fact that people are going hungry because of Trump policies? The list is long.
Farmers are receiving just a few breadcrumbs. The fundamental challenges of trade policy remain unsolved, and our competitors are gleeful as they take market share from U.S. farmers.
The peril in farm country is real. In less than 12 months, damage done to Kansas farmers and their peers across the nation is only just beginning to be felt.
This latest bailout completely fails to address the underlying issues. Again, I will ask Kansas politicians: When are you going to do your job for the people who voted for you?
But that’s not the only political obfuscation going on these days in Kansas.
Chiefs stadium questions
Over the past few months, I have been following efforts by certain Kansas officials to woo the Kansas City Chiefs to move to a new stadium on the other side of the state line with Missouri.
These kinds of projects are promoted as adding “entertainment districts” to the development. These districts supposedly provide significant economic benefits to the area, beyond a single sports venue. The same is true of the University of Kansas’ ongoing project to spend several hundred million dollars to build an entertainment district around its newly renovated football stadium.
Promises, promises.
I’ve wondered just how many “entertainment districts” we need. And I have taken off my rose-colored glasses to read some of the objective and thoughtful studies done concerning the true consequences of these kinds of projects.
Let’s not kid ourselves. Regardless of whether these deals are funded with grants, contributions from donors, tax incentives or other methods, there are adverse economic and social consequences often overlooked. The promises and the realities often do not match.
These large sums of money could be better spent. How about fixing crumbling infrastructure? How about encouraging companies to bring good-paying manufacturing jobs to the area? In the case of KU, how about big money donors helping students afford the high cost of an education, instead of being so focused on having one’s name on a sports venue?
Our society has some strange priorities. Maybe it’s time to focus on taking care of what we have instead of pouring enormous sums into brand new, shiny buildings.
About the author: Ben Palen is a Kansas native and farmer and agriculture consultant in Colorado and Kansas.
