Look! Trump's Controls Are Breeding.

Editor's Note: Yesterday, I wrote a post I decided I didn't like about a lightning strike that knocked out my internet. I had second thoughts, but only after mentioning the post in a comment. The only line I still like from it is, "Pro tip: Make sure the installer uses the plugged-in surge protector you placed within easy reach of the cable box and router." I should have internet at home later today. With that out of the way, it's back to the regular programming.

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Reuters reports (without saying as much) that Donald Trump isn't content to penalize Americans just once with his inane tariffs. Now he's adding subsidies to the mix to make amends to farmers -- a big constituency of his -- whom his policies have admittedly injured:

A few of Trump's controls (regulations by another name) preparing for more mischief... (Image by Steve Smith, via Unsplash, license.)

U.S. farmers, a key Trump constituency, have been among the hardest hit in the trade war between the world's two largest economies. Soybeans are the most valuable U.S. farm export, and shipments to China dropped to a 16-year low in 2018.

A new aid program would be the second round of assistance for farmers, after the Department of Agriculture's $12 billion plan last year to compensate for lower prices for farm goods and lost sales stemming from trade disputes with China and other nations.

...

Craig Ratajczyk, chief executive of the Illinois Soybean Association, said the $15-per-acre minimum would make agricultural lenders more comfortable.

"This will help provide some type of stability for that type of lending institution. It's confidence," he said on the sidelines of an agriculture technology conference in Chicago.

Only a magical-thinking mooch could pretend to himself that a handout from the (current) gang in power is "stability" when the order of the day is rule by  presidential fiat. Real stability would come from all parties being free to engage in trade without interference from third parties. Trump raised our taxes with new tariffs and destabilized our markets. And now, he's raising our taxes again, redistributing money, and monkeying around with lending markets.

Do Republicans remember the saying Controls breed controls anymore? It remains true whether they do or not, and there is no doubt growth in controls will surpass whatever growth our economy has, unless they (or some other political group) begin to support individual rights and capitalism on principle.

-- CAV