Tariffs in the second Trump Administration [SPLIT]

[KaraBulut]

Spending like a drunken sailor.

Trump has been blathering on about sending "tariff refund" buy-offs to the American public: The "bread" in "bread and circuses".

But he's also reportedly planning on sending billions in aid to farmers to counter the effects of lost trade with tariffed countries.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/08/politics/farm-aid-package-trump-tariffs

Trump to announce $12 billion farm aid package at roundtable

President Donald Trump is expected to announce a $12 billion farm aid package at a roundtable on Monday, a White House official told CNN.

Most of the aid — $11 billion — will be directed toward crop farmers through one-time payments under the Farmer Bridge Assistance program, according to the official. The rest will go to farmers whose crops fall outside the umbrella of the assistance program.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins will attend the roundtable, which is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET at the White House. Corn, cotton, sorghum, soybean, rice, cattle, wheat and potato farmers will also attend.

This has become a feature of the Trump Presidencies - break something and then show up with a check to fix what he broke.

 

[rareboy]

They had to buy off the farmers back in Trump v1.0.

But like last time, watch all the big bucks go to the MAGA-mega-farmCorps like Bessent, while the actual farmers don't see anything out of the deal.

 

[KaraBulut]

They had to buy off the farmers back in Trump v1.0.

But like last time, watch all the big bucks go to the MAGA-mega-farmCorps like Bessent, while the actual farmers don't see anything out of the deal.

Add to that a lot of these farmers are insured through the Marketplace and their premiums are going up 30-50%. They were already complaining about high blood pressure and increased suicides because of the market pressure from the tariffs.

 

[Thad1527]

What deficit?

 

[rareboy]

The flood of blatant and disprovable lies never stops with this one.

Because she knows that MAGA world would never fact check.

 

[KaraBulut]

Surprisingly, the soybean farmers aren't taking it lying down: "a bandaid on an open wound".

https://thehill.com/business/5642146-soybean-farmers-trump-relief/

Soybean farmer: Trump's $12B relief plan not a long-term solution

President Trump announced a $12 billion relief plan for American farmers on Monday, primarily targeting farmers who grow corn and soybeans.

www.newson6.com

https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2025-12-10/analysis-us-farmers-say-trumps-12-billion-aid-package-wont-cover-losses

Trump’s $12 billion farmer bailout is a 'Band-Aid on a bigger wound' the American agriculture industry is still reeling from | Fortune

"At the end of the day, the farmers, they just want to conduct business, not necessarily have to get these packages," one agricultural economist said.

fortune.com

 

[rareboy]

Farmers love socialism.

But maybe they are waking up to the fact that the corporations get all the cash and the average farmer is still going to be bankrupted.

 

[fallsguy]

 

[KaraBulut]

Farmers love socialism.

Farmers love socialism when it's covered up with pablum labels like, "Farm Assistance" or "Farm Price Stablization" or "Agricultural Subsidies".
^Fixed

Farmers hate socialism when it helps people in cities or involves people who aren't white.

 

[rareboy]

Yup.

Even though they are the beneficiaries of all the people buying food made with their crops.

It is like all the farmers in the US complaining about shipping money to third world countries until they find out that it is actually a program to pay for the crops grown by them that are surplus to domestic use or exports.

We have a farm and I am under no illusions about our right wing racist farmers here in Ontario who think the same way.

 

[KaraBulut]

Yup.

Even though they are the beneficiaries of all the people buying food made with their crops.

It is the connection that is very explained badly by both sides of the aisle.

During the New Deal era, the US government started buying agricultural products like milk, cheese and corn to prevent prices from swinging high or low. This kept family farms afloat during the depression by guaranteeing income at a time when market demand was low. Those programs still exist as the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) programs.

Eventually, someone realized that, instead of throwing out the products that the government was purchasing, they could be used for social safety net programs. This is why the WIC programs underwrite the same agricultural products like milk, cheese, juice, whole grain cereals, et al; WIC gives vouchers to to pregnant women and children to buy those products. It's why there is a welfare cheese program that gives away the cheese that the government used to buy and throw out.

The irony is that the right wing supports buying farm products to keep farms viable but they don't support the government giving people money to buy those same products at a grocery store.

 

[rareboy]

Trump:

"My favorite word is tariff...Tariffs are bringing us hundreds of billions of dollars.

I just helped our farmers out because they're starting to do really well...The tariffs are making them rich."

At the same time, Trump is threatening high tariffs on Canadian potash to claw back the 12 billion dollars he is bragging about giving to the farmers because his tariffs are driving them into bankruptcy.

 

[KaraBulut]

Canadians must have drunk a lot of bourbon.

The curious thing about this press release in the local press is that the union says that there aren't going to be layoffs. They are planning on bottling bourbon but not distilling new bourbon. This may because the distillery pays property taxes on inventory that is aging in barrels, so by emptying barrels, they are reducing their tax burden while they "enhance" their plant.

Jim Beam to pause production at main Kentucky distillery in 2026

Operations will pause at Jim Bean's main distillery in 2026, while company leaders \

www.cincinnati.com

Jim Beam to pause production at main Kentucky distillery in 2026

• Jim Beam will temporarily halt operations at its main distillery in Clermont, Kentucky, starting in January.
• The closure is for an indefinite period to allow for site enhancements and to manage production levels.
• The company's other distilleries, visitor center, and restaurant will remain open during this time.
• Beam Suntory officials have not announced any layoffs as a result of the temporary shutdown.

 

[rareboy]

We and other countries did drink a lot of bourbon. And a lot of it was Jim Beam. With only two provinces with small (and stingy) populations still retailing it in their boozeterias...Jim Beam has been whining for months about the huge drop in their sales because of tariffs.

And pulling US spirits and wines off the shelves has pissed off Hoekstra and is now on the US list of things to negotiate under CMEUS next year along with the perpetual whining about us taking more hormone laced dairy products.

The question is whether Canucks will reutrn to US Bourbon after they have started drinking other products. I suspect that like a lot of other US producers of wine and spirits...they may have lost a lot of consumers for good.

 

[rareboy]

Totally unsurprised.

TrumpCo. have sent out so many lies about this that their low information/low IQ TPUSA knuckledraggers are
continuing to amplify the lies without question.

 

[rareboy]

Lest US Americans forget that Trump is making you pay a 15% average tax on imports, the SC was originally expected to possibly issue their ruling today.

Most of everyone beleives they will create a carve-out for TrumpCo. to levy tariffs. At worst, they may restrict the tariffs, but definitely will not make TrumpCo. refund the money already taken in.

TrumpCo. is counting on the imposition of a punitive tax on his selected enemy nations becoming a permanent consumption tax.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/trump-tariffs-supreme-court-9.7037813

 

[rareboy]

I thought that the countries paid the tariffs????? Oh dear, this sounds like the US shakedown being ruled illegal is upsetting someone?
Does this mean that the US doesn't have the money? Has it all been spent on ballrooms and ICE capades? And kickbacks? And crypto? And gilding the Oval office?

We all know the SC is going to rule in favour of Trump by carving out a very narrow exemption that may prevent new tariffs from being levied and should nullify the 'Trillions' of dollars
foreign nations have been strongarmed into 'investing' in the US in the future. They will almost certainly let the US keep the money it has already made American consumers pay into the
slush fund. I am sure the Roberts cabal will be all for shifting tax to consumption from income. Ironic, isn't it, when you think back to how the whole revolution was triggered by tariffs.

​

 

[Norri]

I once had a friend who built a barn behind his house in the high desert in California. He never pulled a permit to build it and one day an official from the local government stopped by to inform him that since there was no permit the barn had to come down and eventually it did.

The lesson learned was if you don’t follow the rules you must undo what you have done and it being difficult to do matters not at all.

 

[rareboy]

I think as Trump and his peers have pointed out many, many times...in the US, the laws are for schmucks who don't get building permits.

Not for billionaires.

Who often get a slap on the wrist and then either pardoned or never pay restitution.

Like Trump with all the court judgements he has never paid for.