Bernie Sanders promises help for family farms, rural residents on trip to Iowa

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

POLITICS MAY 5, 2019 / 3:41 PM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO

Bernie Sanders promises help for family farms, rural residents on trip to Iowa

(Reuters) - U.S. presidential contender Bernie Sanders unveiled a plan on Sunday to help family farmers and rural residents, promising to break up corporate agricultural monopolies and invest heavily in social and economic programs in struggling rural communities.

Sanders, an independent U.S. senator and fierce corporate critic, said on a campaign trip to Iowa that rural areas were being devastated by agribusiness consolidations that hoarded profits, drove family farmers off their land and contributed to growing environmental and social problems.

“We cannot create an economy that works for all Americans if we continue to neglect the needs of rural America,” Sanders said in Osage, Iowa, during a visit to the farm state that kicks off the 2020 Democratic presidential nominating race next February.

“In rural America, we are seeing giant agribusiness conglomerates extract as much wealth out of small communities as they can, while family farmers are going bankrupt and, in many cases, treated like modern-day indentured servants,” he said.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-sanders/bernie-sanders-promises-help-for-family-farms-rural-residents-on-trip-to-iowa-idUSKCN1SB0PV

[Politicub]

1. Breaking up the conglomerates is a good start

The Bayer/Monsanto merger should have never been allowed to happen. Now it controls the seed supply for corn, soy and other crops as well as pesticides and weed killers. These seed companies engineer genetic resistance in crops to keep them immune from their weed killer formulations. This allows farmers to saturate crops with Round-Up to kill weeds without killing the crop.

On edit: Since it's Bayer, they also control drugs and treatments for illnesses their chemicals cause. You couldn't make up something so sinister if you tried.

[Wellstone ruled]

2. About time a

Dem Candidate gets his or her feet in some Manure in Rural America. Hey,Osage is a start.
.
This is how you win back Rural America,now you better put the words into Actionable Policies or you are crap out of luck.

All our Rural Rethug and so called Indies are waiting for just these type of Candidates .

[Blue_true]

8. The majority of those people would choose being dragged 20 miles over

asphalt by a mule rather than vote for a democrat.

We should help them, but don't count on their votes.

I know that many on DU don't share this view. But the vast majority of Americans are concerned about whether they can feed their family on a shrinking food budget. If it comes down to buying the corn from a conglomerate or buying the corn from a family farm for 50% more, they are chosing the cheap corn. Not everyone can pay Whole Foods prices, that is why if you notice, the number of cars that you see parked in a Walmart grocery parking lot are three times what you see at a traditional grocery store and 100 times what you see parked at a health food store that sells food. Family farmers will continue to vanish until large numbers of Americans change their criteria for buying food, I don't see that happening to any degree and the people that do make such a choice already shop at either health food groceries or a Whole Foods like market.

[crazytown]

21. Iowa gave us subsidised HFCS

Obama’s 2007/8 logo was a rainbow over a cornfield. Florida holds America hostage to high sugar prices and Iowa does it’s bit for HFCS. Time for Dems to concentrate on taking back Texas.

[WeekiWater]

12. Helping smaller rural farmers is a major part of Warrens campaign. NT

[murielm99]

3. As someone who owns a family farm,

I will believe it when I see it.

And none of the people around here will support someone they consider a socialist. Bernie is wasting his time.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

4. Not a socialist... a DEMOCRATIC socialist. Please get it right... thank you.

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[murielm99]

13. LOL

I knew someone would be naive enough to point that out. They don't give a crap about the distinction.

I know these people. I live with them. Some of them are friends. They live in my precinct. I try to talk to them sometimes to try to find common ground when I am getting out the vote.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

14. It's naive to think that's naive to point out...but, if your friends and neighbors think that way...

I see why Hillary thought they were deplorable.


Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[murielm99]

16. They would feel the same way about you.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

17. Thanks, I wear it as a badge of honor that those Hillary described as deplorable feel that way!!

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[Me.]

5. What Exactly?

Specifically?

[Blue_true]

10. Good question.

Trying to break up agribusiness concerns will insure that he gets tied up in Court until he either lose or the clock gets run out on him.

Any family farmer that is trying to punch it out toe to toe with the big boys is going to lose. Even if the big companies don't use a single trick or shortcut their sheer scale will allow them to easily prevail and if Bernie tries to remove that, he will certainly get taken to court. Sad situation, but that is where we are. Big companies are set to dominate the climate change next wave for feeding large amounts of people, tower farms, simply because they have the money to invest in and test those concepts.

[comradebillyboy]

18. So wishful thinking then. Bernie proposes a remedy that isn't

really available unless he proposes to rule by fiat.

[Blue_true]

26. Pretty much. nt

[mucifer]

24. Specifics Here please flame away as always:

Highlights:

Corporation busts: Sanders wants to pause all future mergers and vertical integration of large agribusiness corporations and break-up "existing massive agribusinesses." Like fellow 2020 Democrat Elizabeth Warren, Sanders wants a right-to-repair law that allows farmers to choose how to repair their farming equipment instead of being forced to go through authorized agents like John Deere.

Climate change: The plan aims to incentivize farmers to help sequester greenhouse gas emissions from farming and enforce the Clean Air and Water Acts for large, factory farms. "The current administration lacks the will to enforce [federal laws], particularly on mega-farms. Regulations should be scale-appropriate, and focus attention on the operations with largest impact," the proposal says.

Revitalize rural communities: The proposal emphasizes the need for education and job training, while also tying in paid child care, quality health care through his "Medicare for All" plan, and reformed immigration labor laws.

Full proposal:
https://berniesanders.com/revitalizing-rural-america/

[Me.]

25. Wants & Aims

How? Any legislation in the works/been offered?

[NYMinute]

6. lol

Hillary Clinton has a great quote about this from "There's something about Mary" in her 2017 book.

That’s what it was like in policy debates with Bernie. We would propose a bold infrastructure investment plan or an ambitious new apprenticeship program for young people, and then Bernie would announce basically the same thing, but bigger. On issue after issue, it was like he kept proposing four-minute abs, or even no-minute abs. Magic abs!”

Bernie is doing that AGAIN.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=133&v=JB2di69FmhE

[BannonsLiver]

7. None of Bernie's ideas are original

They are all ripoffs of other, more workable and realistic ideas.

[Blue_true]

11. It is called pandering.

Every politician does it, but when Bernie does it, his supporters see a brilliant, heavenly light parting deadly looking dark clouds. That is just the reality that we must get past.

[JI7]

19. i remember this, and now all of these posts about Sanders calling for this/that

make sense. it seems to be a response to Warren and others who are actually putting out plans they put some thought into with explanations and numbers to back it up.

i remember when he was called on to explain how he would do things he would get upset.

contrast that with Elizabeth Warren who is expecting to be asked that and just can't get to get into the details to show how it would be done.

[yardwork]

20. That's exactly what he does. Big promises, no details on how to get it done.

[Uncle Joe]

9. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread Eugene.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

15. K&R!!

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[crazytown]

23. Devin Nunes moved the family farm to Iowa