Grew up and are friends with farmers. Can confirm that most of them are at least upper, upper middle class.

  • nocturne@slrpnk.net
    332·
    10 months ago

    But they act like they are poor. We hike down at the river every morning with our dog’s and in the way pass a lot of farms. They have RVs, boats, brand new quads or side-by-sides. But they will be the first to tell you how poor they are.

      • AlligatorBlizzard@sh.itjust.works
        5·
        10 months ago

        They are definitely up to their eyeballs in debt. Farm equipment isn’t cheap. Several of my uncles own a farm, it’s a middle class existence but it’s not a comfortable one.

        (The 4x4s and trucks are farm equipment and the RV was from the 70s and used for my uncle’s RAGBRAI team. No boats though.

        • nocturne@slrpnk.net
          4·
          10 months ago

          4x4s and trucks are farm equipment

          Yeah the '79 dodge pick up with a missing fender is farm equipment, the 2024 ford 350 plastered in maga stickers that has never touched dirt, is not.

      • resipsaloquitur@lemmy.worldBanned
        152·
        10 months ago

        Farming is subsidized because of pork-barrel politics. They’re paid to grow corn that’s mostly thrown away. Sometimes they’re paid to not grow food.

        And much of it is exported. How does feeding China help me? Why should “successful” businessmen get my tax dollars?

          • resipsaloquitur@lemmy.worldBanned
            6·
            10 months ago

            Given that I’m in a maker state (not a taker state) and I don’t get any tax credits (not married, no kids, not deducting mortgage interest, etc.) — I mean, it is my money. And great, we exported all our union manufacturing jobs to an authoritarian sweat shop.

            Well, stop doing me favors. I don’t want to subsidize soybeans for export to other countries to prop up authoritarian regimes.

            • agent_nycto@lemmy.world
              11·
              10 months ago

              Ok but taking China out of the equation here, I think their point is that it’s part of the international trade system, which does benefit you. The US can’t make everything, so being able to trade with other countries is a good thing. The tariffs putting a squeeze on that is an example of how interconnected and dependant we are on it.

  • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
    23·
    10 months ago

    “Farmers” is very broad…

    Most farmland is owned by incredibly wealthy “farmers” who never step off pavement. They’re just land hoarders and “investors”.

    However, most farmers (by number of individuals) are poor as fuck and usually have massive amounts of debt. When they go under or the kids move to a city, they sell to a “farmer”.

    It’s a consolidation of a vital resource and we should all be concerned about the logical result when most of our food is grown by a handful of massive corporations.