# Omnibus thread for how the current admin is sticking it to the poor & middle-class **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 13, 2018, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-thread-for-how-the-current-admin-is-sticking-it-to-the-poor-middle-class/808763 "2018-02-13T14:12:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-thread-for-how-the-current-admin-is-sticking-it-to-the-poor-middle-class/808763/41 "2018-02-14T11:48:28Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > That was my first thought. Right now, local food banks rely largely on volunteer labor to package and deliver food boxes, and on donations for the food itself. This “innovative” idea couldn’t possibly be a giant corporate give-away to the likes of Con-Agra, could it? It’s a giant give away to someone, at least. I’m sure that will reveal itself in time. An government of billionaires, by billionaires, for billionaires. The attacks on the poor probably resonate with those who believe that the poor have no value, ignoring the fact that poor people (with government funds of course) support all kinds of local businesses with these funds daily. So it’s not just an attack on the poor, but on the businesses they patronize as well. When you take away spending power from the lowest classes, it puts additional power on the rungs above. This is what conservatives, with their micro-economic perspective, typically fail to understand. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-thread-for-how-the-current-admin-is-sticking-it-to-the-poor-middle-class/808763/42 "2018-02-14T11:51:49Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Things don’t just happen by magic. We have flu vaccines, safe airline travel, accurate weights and measures, and a hundred other things because people work their asses off to make it so. So Trump thinks “we’ll just send them food”; well somebody has to do the work, and somebody has to organize all the people who are doing the work. **I’m not sure Trump understands that.** More to the point, he simply does not give a fuck. Nobody in that administration could care any less about the consequences of this or any other policy. They are there to enrich themselves, and the billionaires who donated their money to congress will use them to destroy government as we know it. And they’ve made a lot of progress in that regard, and they will probably continue to do so until such time that the people in this country get tired of being kicked in the skull - and more importantly, collectively realize whose boots are stomping on them. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-thread-for-how-the-current-admin-is-sticking-it-to-the-poor-middle-class/808763/43 "2018-02-14T13:04:28Z")
This is all just another chapter of right wing aggression against people who happen to be poor. There isn’t a month that goes by without someone in our Facebook feeds sharing a post that says we all need to follow the example of 3 states that force welfare recipients for drugs. Never mind that it very likely costs more to do the testing than what is saved by eliminating drug users from the rolls, who this hurts will be the children of those who would be cut off. It’s always “I don’t want MY money to go to any of THEM”, with never a thought of a kid who will go without food because mommy smoked a joint. If you are willing to tolerate supporting one cheat in order to support 100 needy families, you’re a normal human being. If you’re willing to starve 100 needy families in order to eliminate one cheat, you’re a Republican. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-thread-for-how-the-current-admin-is-sticking-it-to-the-poor-middle-class/808763/44 "2018-02-14T14:01:16Z")
Trump’s new infrastructure plan shifts spending to the states and prioritises private investment over public investment. That means new toll roads that are privately owned, and public roads with more potholes! [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-trump-infrastructure-plan-states-20180131-story.html&sa=U&ved=0ahUKEwiBu8jzx6XZAhVmrlQKHU22APkQFggRMAI&usg=AOvVaw3a12QTXRFxvJ35Hmka3oqx](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-trump-infrastructure-plan-states-20180131-story.html&sa=U&ved=0ahUKEwiBu8jzx6XZAhVmrlQKHU22APkQFggRMAI&usg=AOvVaw3a12QTXRFxvJ35Hmka3oqx) ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-thread-for-how-the-current-admin-is-sticking-it-to-the-poor-middle-class/808763/45 "2018-02-14T14:34:37Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > Trump’s new infrastructure plan shifts spending to the states and prioritises private investment over public investment. That means new toll roads that are privately owned, and public roads with more potholes! > > [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-trump-infrastructure-plan-states-20180131-story.html&sa=U&ved=0ahUKEwiBu8jzx6XZAhVmrlQKHU22APkQFggRMAI&usg=AOvVaw3a12QTXRFxvJ35Hmka3oqx](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-trump-infrastructure-plan-states-20180131-story.html&sa=U&ved=0ahUKEwiBu8jzx6XZAhVmrlQKHU22APkQFggRMAI&usg=AOvVaw3a12QTXRFxvJ35Hmka3oqx) I haven’t read enough about the infrastructure plan, but I’m guessing it’s a system in which the federal government decides who gets contracts to build, maintain, and manage specific projects. Beyond obviously bilking the public and forcing them to pay more for things we need to use, this would give the Donald and his successors power to lean on companies. He could pick and choose “winners”…who would probably be forced to support and pay tribute to republican campaigns. This is how kleptocracies work. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-thread-for-how-the-current-admin-is-sticking-it-to-the-poor-middle-class/808763/46 "2018-02-14T14:39:34Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > I haven’t read enough about the infrastructure plan, but I’m guessing it’s a system in which the federal government decides who gets contracts to build, maintain, and manage specific projects. Beyond obviously bilking the public and forcing them to pay more for things we need to use, this would give the Donald and his successors power to lean on companies. He could pick and choose “winners”…who would probably be forced to support and pay tribute to republican campaigns. This is how kleptocracies work. What (stupid) people don’t seem to realize is that when private companies take over public works, the private companies are in business TO MAKE A PROFIT. Therefore, they have to make the project cost less than they take in. Common sense. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-thread-for-how-the-current-admin-is-sticking-it-to-the-poor-middle-class/808763/47 "2018-02-14T15:27:23Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > What (stupid) people don’t seem to realize is that when private companies take over public works, the private companies are in business TO MAKE A PROFIT. Therefore, they have to make the project cost less than they take in. Common sense. Yep, absolutely 1000% true. They pay more for (usually) less in return - take our health system as an example, and for-profit “education” as another. I know the usual suspects are waiting to chime in about how private contractors are already involved in public infrastructure projects - true enough. But there’s an established system of public oversight. What’s missing from these articles is that this public system of oversight that serves public interests is being gutted on a daily basis. The GOP’s idea of infrastructure is allowing private companies to essentially have absolute control over territory that they can call their own, and they determine who has access and how much we have to pay to gain admittance past the front entrance. And going back to the previous post, this is also a system that is going to be manipulated to maintain political power of those who are in power. As an example, in Vladimir Putin’s Russia, it’s Putin who decides which contracts go to whom. Piss him off, and you don’t get a contract - your competitor does. Don’t pay Ghengis Khan, er, Vladimir Putin enough in territorial tributes, er, I mean taxes - sorry - then you don’t get new contracts. He can run individual businesses (like Amazon) out of existence in favor of Walmart. A little harder to do with a billionaire like Jeff Bezos, but Putin’s solution to that problem is to bring them in front of a judge on trumped-up (no pun intended) corruption and tax evasion charges. We saw Trump tip his hand a little bit with the dust up with Boeing right after his inauguration a year ago, and people probably have long since forgotten it, but we need to bookmark that moment, because we’ll inevitably come back to that chapter if his administration is allowed to continue long enough. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-thread-for-how-the-current-admin-is-sticking-it-to-the-poor-middle-class/808763/48 "2018-02-14T16:36:26Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > And this is what **I** mean… > > **I** doubt $50 is > > This is why **I** have the problems… > > **I** have with Trump supporters… > > **I** am not the most… > > **I** literally did not consider… > > … **my** own well being > > **I** decided Hey, but as long as you’re thinking of the people being screwed and not yourself :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-thread-for-how-the-current-admin-is-sticking-it-to-the-poor-middle-class/808763/49 "2018-02-14T17:50:13Z")
[‘We would literally not survive’: How Trump’s plans for the social-safety net would affect America’s poorest](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/we-would-literally-not-survive-how-trumps-plans-for-the-social-safety-net-would-affect-americas-poorest/2018/02/14/11f34f92-10f6-11e8-8ea1-c1d91fcec3fe_story.html?utm_term=.50a6c00f8d39) > [@](#): > > The president’s budget proposal, released Monday, would slash nearly half a trillion dollars over the next 10 years from the three main pillars of the social safety net: Medicaid, federal housing assistance, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as food stamps. > > Anti-poverty advocates say the cuts and a radical restructuring — substituting “food boxes” for food stamps and introducing work requirements for subsidized housing — could make life more precarious for 90 million low-income Americans who rely on at least one of those programs, potentially pushing millions off the programs and reducing benefits for the ones who are left. Emphasis added. This next line made me actually laugh out loud: > [@](#): > > By dramatically curtailing spending on these programs, the administration has said, it can shrink the deficit and focus benefits on the truly needy. “Shrink the deficit”? Are you fucking kidding me? Who gives a rat’s ass about shrinking the deficit? The article cites a specific family: > [@](#): > > “Is that making America great — by making it unbearable for people who are U.S. citizens to even live here?” said Daisy Franklin, a 60-year-old grandmother in Norwalk, Conn., whose household of four relies upon Medicaid, a federal housing voucher as well as more than $300 a month in food stamps. “It sounds like Trump is trying to turn the clock back.” > > For decades, Franklin worked assembling electronic components for local manufacturers. But she stopped working in 2010 after developing fibromyalgia and went on disability, collecting $1250 a month. Her adult daughter supplements the household budget with a part-time $10-an-hour job at Marshall’s, and Franklin helps care for her 4- and 5-year-old granddaughters. > > The money from her disability check usually runs out well before the end of the month — even with help from food stamps to supplement groceries and a federal housing voucher that covers two-thirds of their $1450 a month rent. > … > Franklin’s family is representative of the average household on public benefits, government statistics show. The majority of Americans on welfare programs for the poor are children, seniors, people with disabilities and working adults with low-paying jobs. > … Children. Seniors. Disabled. WORKING adults with low-paying jobs. Yeah, let’s make it even harder for them. Because that can never happen to us. It only happens to undeserving people. They must have done something wrong, otherwise why would they be having such a hard time. Except the kids…their mistake was being born into either a poor family or a family where the main breadwinner was going to lose his/her job. Dumb kids! Serves them right! ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-thread-for-how-the-current-admin-is-sticking-it-to-the-poor-middle-class/808763/50 "2018-02-14T18:29:18Z")
Trump and DeVos call for massive cuts to college student aid programs > **[Trump and DeVos call for massive cuts to college student aid programs](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2018/02/13/trump-and-devos-call-for-massive-cuts-to-college-student-aid-programs/)** > > The Trump administration is seeking to slash nearly $4 billion in annual funding for student aid programs, but the two-year budget deal signed into law last week complicates the proposal. > [@](#): > > President Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos released a fiscal 2019 budget Monday thatrehashes many of the proposals floated by the White House last year. Among them are plans to ax loan forgiveness for public servants,alter the terms of income-driven student loan repayment andstop paying the interest on low-income students’ loans while they are in school.Those three changes alone could increase the cost of higher education for borrowers by more than $200 billion over the next decade. > > Trump wants to consolidate five income-driven plans into one that shortens the payment period to 15 years for undergraduates but raises the monthlybill to 12.5 percent of income for both undergraduates and graduate students. Graduate students, though, would have to pay for longer: 30 years. What’s more, futureborrowers would no longer have the option of workingas teachers or social workers to receivedebt forgiveness after 10 years of loan payments. > … College should be for people who can afford it, okay? ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-thread-for-how-the-current-admin-is-sticking-it-to-the-poor-middle-class/808763/51 "2018-02-14T19:07:20Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Trump and DeVos call for massive cuts to college student aid programs > [http://wapo.st/2o3GjJz](http://wapo.st/2o3GjJz) > College should be for people who can afford it, okay? Unless it’s a for-profit scam like Trump University. In that case, watch as they turn on the spigots for federal aid and bilk returning war veterans out of their education benefits. Now that’s what I call making America great again. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-thread-for-how-the-current-admin-is-sticking-it-to-the-poor-middle-class/808763/52 "2018-02-14T19:38:24Z")
[Trump’s recent economic plans could hurt the white working-class voters who backed him](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/02/14/trumps-recent-economic-plans-could-hurt-the-white-working-class-voters-that-backed-him/?utm_term=.755ad376850d) The question is, will they figure it out? I’m guessing no, not unless they hear it on FAUXNews. Somehow it will be Obama’s fault. > [@](#): > > But experts say slashing food stamp funding could have a devastating impact on low-income families, including those who backed the president. While many have historically thought of cities as the centers of American poverty, according to the U.S. Census, nearly 17 percent of the rural population is poor, compared with 13 percent of the urban population. > > Stacey Dean, vice president for food assistance policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, told The Fix that this change could be felt most by rural Americans. > > “Rural America is one of the areas that don’t have many food banks. So I worry, for example, that if the way the proposal would work would be that they cut people’s benefits in half and say, ‘We’ll buy the food for you, and they’ll be this box of food.’ It’ll do nothing to fill the void,” Dean said. > … But it’s not just food that would be affected. > [@](#): > > Trump’s budget proposes eliminating the Rural Business and Cooperative Service, which provides loans and grants in rural communities and also cuts crop insurance subsidies for farmers. The budget also includes cuts to the Economic Development Administration, which provides federal grants to communities, including those in rural areas, in support of locally developed economic plans. > … ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-thread-for-how-the-current-admin-is-sticking-it-to-the-poor-middle-class/808763/53 "2018-02-14T19:51:39Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > [Trump’s recent economic plans could hurt the white working-class voters who backed him](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/02/14/trumps-recent-economic-plans-could-hurt-the-white-working-class-voters-that-backed-him/?utm_term=.755ad376850d) > > The question is, will they figure it out? I’m guessing no, not unless they hear it on FAUXNews. Somehow it will be Obama’s fault.But it’s not just food that would be affected. I’ve heard the argument that the truly poor don’t vote, but the working class do. So I don’t know if Trump’s followers will be affected by SNAP reductions. Some will, but as you said they’ll invent a lie so they can blame Obama and the democrats. It’ll probably be something like ‘the democrats let illegal aliens use SNAP, now the program is bankrupt. That is why I lost my benefits’. It is tiresome being an American. The level of stupidity and amorality in pursuit of bigotry is so despairing ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-thread-for-how-the-current-admin-is-sticking-it-to-the-poor-middle-class/808763/54 "2018-02-14T20:44:34Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > [Trump’s recent economic plans could hurt the white working-class voters who backed him](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/02/14/trumps-recent-economic-plans-could-hurt-the-white-working-class-voters-that-backed-him/?utm_term=.755ad376850d) > > The question is, will they figure it out? I’m guessing no, not unless they hear it on FAUXNews. Somehow it will be Obama’s fault.But it’s not just food that would be affected. I have to admit, I’m in favor of this, "cuts crop insurance subsidies for farmers. " the fact that SNAP is also a subsidy for the ag industry, it seems there are going to be many family farms going bankrupt in short order. On the one hand, I do actually like the idea of keeping that industry around, as it is nice knowing that a substantial portion of our arable land is being used by american citizens to produce for other americans. OTOH, they are the ones that typically have the most hate for their fellow american, and vote for people who will hurt americans, while smarmily telling people that live in the city that they hold “us” hostage because they happen to be living on land that food can be grown on. Well, if they can’t afford to live there anymore, because to be quite honest, the family farm has not been viable without govt support since the great depression, oh well. Large corporations will buy up their land from the bank after they’ve gone bankrupt, and grow food more efficiently and cost effectively, while not costing tax dollars for subsidies. Win for economics, win for food supply, win for the people, the only losers are the farmers that voted for the govt that removed their supports. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-thread-for-how-the-current-admin-is-sticking-it-to-the-poor-middle-class/808763/55 "2018-02-14T20:55:40Z")
> [@Randolph](#): > > Do we really need another one of these types of threads? > [@Clothahump](#): > > No. No, we didn’t. You helped elect the 70-year-old Kindergartner. Suck it up, Buttercup. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-thread-for-how-the-current-admin-is-sticking-it-to-the-poor-middle-class/808763/56 "2018-02-14T21:31:25Z")
There is a subset of American morons that believes the worst result of Trump’s electoral college victory is the number of anti-Trump message board threads. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-thread-for-how-the-current-admin-is-sticking-it-to-the-poor-middle-class/808763/57 "2018-02-14T21:49:08Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > You helped elect the 70-year-old Kindergartner. Suck it up, Buttercup. A 70 year old Kindergartner who committed treason and appeals to white nationalists. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-thread-for-how-the-current-admin-is-sticking-it-to-the-poor-middle-class/808763/58 "2018-02-14T22:57:48Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > You helped elect the 70-year-old Kindergartner. Suck it up, Buttercup. On the other hand, Trump (as disgusting and vile as the big orange cheetoh is) never tried to scam a message board about getting air-conditioning only for it later to come out that the problem was his bunnies might get a little warm. So…really, the only difference between you and Trump is that you’re a less successful scammer. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-thread-for-how-the-current-admin-is-sticking-it-to-the-poor-middle-class/808763/59 "2018-02-14T23:11:35Z")
**k9bfriender @54** “…the only losers are the farmers…” And people who eat fresh food, those weaklings. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-thread-for-how-the-current-admin-is-sticking-it-to-the-poor-middle-class/808763/60 "2018-02-14T23:21:57Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > **k9bfriender @54** “…the only losers are the farmers…” > > And people who eat fresh food, those weaklings. If you had paid attention to my post, you would have seen that your rejoinder is without any merit. The “farmers” are just the people living on the land. We don’t need them living on the land in order to get food to grow there. They don’t have some special magical skill that cannot be replicated by other people or even automation. We are supporting them so that they can hold onto their old ways, and that’s fine. Except they have voted in a govt that is going to strip them of their land and their livelihood, and I think that the result will actually come out better. I would not have voted for a candidate that wanted to destroy the family farm, even though I have feeling that they are less efficient than a corporate farm, but they did. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-thread-for-how-the-current-admin-is-sticking-it-to-the-poor-middle-class/808763.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-thread-for-how-the-current-admin-is-sticking-it-to-the-poor-middle-class/808763.md?page=4)