1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:03,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Tutor Dixon Podcast. As you've likely heard, 2 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:06,160 Speaker 1: the federal government is shut down, and what you may 3 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:10,400 Speaker 1: not know is that that affects many people's lives. Obviously, 4 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:13,360 Speaker 1: we know it affects everybody who's working in Washington, DC 5 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:16,760 Speaker 1: and at our airports, but it also affects our farmers. 6 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:20,480 Speaker 1: So we have Brian Risinger here with us today to 7 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:23,279 Speaker 1: share the behind the scenes, to get us a little 8 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:27,200 Speaker 1: bit smarter about what the shutdown does and who's actually responsible. Brian, 9 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:30,400 Speaker 1: you may remember he's a journalist, a farmer, and an author, 10 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:32,640 Speaker 1: and we talked to him a little while back about 11 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:35,720 Speaker 1: his book Land Rich, Cash Poor. Brian, Welcome back to 12 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 1: the podcast. 13 00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:38,159 Speaker 2: It's good to be with you. Thanks so much for 14 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:38,519 Speaker 2: having me. 15 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:42,760 Speaker 1: Absolutely so you have some insight into what this is 16 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:46,080 Speaker 1: doing to our farmers. I know there's some question about 17 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:48,400 Speaker 1: farm aid. I think a lot of people in America 18 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:50,919 Speaker 1: have heard about this shutdown, but they don't exactly know 19 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:53,800 Speaker 1: how it affects all these different industries. So share a 20 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:56,240 Speaker 1: little bit about what's going on with our farmers right now. 21 00:00:56,520 --> 00:00:59,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, Well, here's how the congressional squabbling affects farmers. Form 22 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:01,280 Speaker 2: the most part, farmer like a lot of hard working 23 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:03,480 Speaker 2: families in America, you know, don't have a whole lot 24 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:05,880 Speaker 2: of use for government every single day. They're not, you know, 25 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:07,480 Speaker 2: in a lot of ways. They are just trying to 26 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:09,839 Speaker 2: grow something to be able to sell it to people 27 00:01:09,959 --> 00:01:11,880 Speaker 2: and make a dollar to keep their farm going. It's 28 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:15,840 Speaker 2: as simple as that. However, agriculture and government are very 29 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:18,320 Speaker 2: wound up together, whether we like it or not. And 30 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:21,279 Speaker 2: what has happened is the government shut down has placed 31 00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:24,160 Speaker 2: all kinds of limitations and problems on farmers. There's things 32 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:27,200 Speaker 2: like local county offices where they need to go register 33 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:29,319 Speaker 2: their crops and things that they're required to do that 34 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:31,560 Speaker 2: they're not able to do, and that's kind of a frustration. 35 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:36,000 Speaker 2: But the big thing is the way the congressional squabbling 36 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:40,440 Speaker 2: has stalled talks around President Trump's tariff package or any 37 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:44,520 Speaker 2: kind of a solution around tariff issues. So we're getting 38 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:47,280 Speaker 2: tough with other countries, we're negotiating, we're using tariffs where 39 00:01:47,319 --> 00:01:49,640 Speaker 2: we need to to try to drive better deals. That's 40 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:52,080 Speaker 2: something that a lot of farmers think we need to do. 41 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:55,320 Speaker 2: At the same time, farmers can be affected if a 42 00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:58,800 Speaker 2: country like China, which we're seeing decides to snow America's farmers, says, 43 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:01,200 Speaker 2: we don't want to negotiate with America. We're going to 44 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:03,800 Speaker 2: make it tough on America's farmers. Those are the things 45 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:06,640 Speaker 2: that farmers live with. And so when we have the 46 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:11,680 Speaker 2: shutdown stopping things like discussion on terifaid, that's a real problem. 47 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:13,920 Speaker 2: People can decide whether they agree or don't agree with 48 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:15,920 Speaker 2: all the things that we're doing around trade, but the 49 00:02:15,919 --> 00:02:18,320 Speaker 2: reality is that farmers know we need to get tougher, 50 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:21,600 Speaker 2: and along with getting tougher can be a little bit 51 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 2: of pain. And the problem is that the shutdown is 52 00:02:24,639 --> 00:02:27,520 Speaker 2: stopping Washington's ability to do anything to help our farmers 53 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:29,920 Speaker 2: who are making sacrifices to try to make sure that 54 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:32,920 Speaker 2: we have better trade policies for farmers, for workers, for 55 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:33,880 Speaker 2: all of our industries. 56 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:37,480 Speaker 1: So, I mean, what does this mean. We're hearing that 57 00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:39,960 Speaker 1: September was the first month that China said that they 58 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:43,840 Speaker 1: weren't bringing any American soybeans into China. We know that 59 00:02:43,919 --> 00:02:47,000 Speaker 1: the President is scheduled to go to Asia later this week. 60 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:49,880 Speaker 1: There's obviously some concern about these tariffs. I just saw 61 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:52,640 Speaker 1: a commercial this morning for the first time, which was 62 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:57,680 Speaker 1: somewhat stunning that was President Reagan's voice saying tariffs are bad, 63 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:00,320 Speaker 1: we shouldn't have tariffs all this stuff. You know, we're 64 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:03,840 Speaker 1: coming up to the midterms. The Democrats are holding this, 65 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:06,960 Speaker 1: holding the government hostage right now. Essentially they are the 66 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 1: one They're the reason that this shutdown has occurred. They 67 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:13,079 Speaker 1: won't vote for this continuing your resolution that's clean, it's 68 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:15,760 Speaker 1: the same thing they voted on four years. They won't 69 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:19,640 Speaker 1: vote for that. What does this mean when we see 70 00:03:19,639 --> 00:03:22,240 Speaker 1: Trump going over there, is he going to do you 71 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:25,399 Speaker 1: believe he'll go back and forth on some of these tariffs. 72 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:27,600 Speaker 1: Do you think that the tariffs are bad? Should the 73 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:29,480 Speaker 1: president be the one taking the heat for this? 74 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:33,480 Speaker 2: Here's the reality the media, in addition to not covering 75 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 2: the shutdown properly and not in leating the American people 76 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:39,000 Speaker 2: understand what's actually driving the shutdown, and you're referring to 77 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:41,640 Speaker 2: a lot of it. They're not covering the Terrificshue properly. 78 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:45,160 Speaker 2: They want to say that, you know, all all farmers 79 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:47,480 Speaker 2: are against tariffs and they're scared to death and all 80 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:49,960 Speaker 2: of this stuff. I mean, here's the reality. Farmers deal 81 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:54,920 Speaker 2: with the reality of both impacts by China snubbing us 82 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:56,920 Speaker 2: and being upset with our tariffs. They deal with that, 83 00:03:56,960 --> 00:04:00,000 Speaker 2: but they also do with thirty years of having unfaired 84 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:02,760 Speaker 2: trade practice keep prices down, so China for the nineties 85 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:04,040 Speaker 2: and two thousands. A lot of the ways that this 86 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:06,360 Speaker 2: affected other industries that you talk about on your show 87 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:09,840 Speaker 2: a lot China and other adversars, but mainly China has 88 00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:13,040 Speaker 2: been buying a massive amount of American agricultural products, and 89 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:15,360 Speaker 2: then they'll do things like dump those products so they'll 90 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 2: build the price up and then they'll crash the price. 91 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:21,800 Speaker 2: They also cheat on their currency, they use unfair trade standards, 92 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:24,400 Speaker 2: so the American farmer doesn't have to have an economic 93 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:26,320 Speaker 2: degree to know that they they're getting screwed by China 94 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:30,760 Speaker 2: for thirty years. And so a lot of farmers, including 95 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:33,680 Speaker 2: those who are impacted when China or other countries get 96 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:36,680 Speaker 2: upset over tariffs and don't buy our soybeans or whatever 97 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:38,680 Speaker 2: else it is, also know that we need to get 98 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:40,680 Speaker 2: tougher in order to get better trade deals. So these 99 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:44,280 Speaker 2: farmers are saying, hey, let's get tougher. Yes, let's make 100 00:04:44,279 --> 00:04:46,520 Speaker 2: a deal with China and other countries, but it's got 101 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:47,760 Speaker 2: to be a fair deal. It's got to be a 102 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:49,680 Speaker 2: tougher deal. It can't be just the wide open trade 103 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:51,359 Speaker 2: of the nineties and two thousands that allowed us to 104 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:54,159 Speaker 2: get ripped off. So the media is not covering the 105 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:57,279 Speaker 2: fact that for farmers it's complex. They may be in 106 00:04:57,320 --> 00:05:00,159 Speaker 2: an industry such as soybeans, are farm gross soybeans, the 107 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:05,360 Speaker 2: crops that are affected by the trade dispute, but they're 108 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:07,280 Speaker 2: not covering the fact that these farmers have also been 109 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:10,800 Speaker 2: affected by China artificially keeping prices low and screwing the 110 00:05:10,839 --> 00:05:14,040 Speaker 2: American farmer for decades. So farmers want trade, but they 111 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:15,440 Speaker 2: want it to be fair trade, and they want to 112 00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:17,680 Speaker 2: see a strategy through that can force China and other 113 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:20,680 Speaker 2: countries to deal with us more fairly. And that's why 114 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:26,719 Speaker 2: this shutdown is such terrible, incredibly calamitous timing, because farmers 115 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:29,080 Speaker 2: who are willing to make the short term pain, long 116 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:32,279 Speaker 2: term gain sacrifice that we need to to fight for 117 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:36,000 Speaker 2: more fair trade standards aren't getting the tariff support that 118 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:38,320 Speaker 2: they ought to get if Congress was doing its job. 119 00:05:38,839 --> 00:05:41,120 Speaker 1: Do they feel like they're being ignored because obviously, if 120 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 1: we look at I mean taking Michigan for example, if 121 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:46,239 Speaker 1: you look at the farmland that's read. They're not voting 122 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:49,040 Speaker 1: for Democrats, They're voting for Republicans. Do you feel like 123 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:52,800 Speaker 1: farmers are saying Democrats don't care about us because they 124 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:55,080 Speaker 1: don't get our vote anyway, so they don't mind keeping 125 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:56,200 Speaker 1: the government shut down. 126 00:05:57,160 --> 00:05:58,960 Speaker 2: Yeah. I think that they feel like what's going on 127 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:01,240 Speaker 2: in Washington is very far off from what's going on 128 00:06:01,279 --> 00:06:04,040 Speaker 2: in our farm fields. And I don't speak for all farmers. Well, 129 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:06,600 Speaker 2: I think about my dad who's still farming, my sister 130 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:08,120 Speaker 2: who's work going to take over our farm, and the 131 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:10,159 Speaker 2: work that our family does to try to keep it going. 132 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:15,120 Speaker 2: We all know that every single day people families like 133 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:17,560 Speaker 2: ours are toiling, and people in Washington don't know what's 134 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:19,920 Speaker 2: going on on the ground on our farms, let alone 135 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:21,920 Speaker 2: how it's connected with their debates, let alone how it's 136 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:24,120 Speaker 2: connected with the food supply of every American, because that's 137 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:26,000 Speaker 2: the other thing is it's not just about our farms, 138 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:27,760 Speaker 2: but the food of all Americans. 139 00:06:28,279 --> 00:06:33,200 Speaker 1: And maybe the Democrats actually don't understand the connection between 140 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:35,800 Speaker 1: farms and food because we're hearing here on the ground 141 00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:38,600 Speaker 1: that they are desperately trying to take over farms for 142 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:41,839 Speaker 1: wind and for solar In fact, I know a man 143 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:45,320 Speaker 1: who runs a solar company in the area and he said, 144 00:06:45,520 --> 00:06:48,240 Speaker 1: we're having trouble getting some of the farms between ground 145 00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:50,839 Speaker 1: rapids and lansing. But the government's going to step in 146 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:52,920 Speaker 1: and help us. And I thought, what does that even mean? 147 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:56,440 Speaker 1: What is the future of farms with the Demo if 148 00:06:56,480 --> 00:06:59,479 Speaker 1: the Democrat Party gets into control, because we know that 149 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:03,120 Speaker 1: they're going for this green energy, all of this climate 150 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:07,159 Speaker 1: change stuff, and that if essentially is taking over family farms. 151 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:09,640 Speaker 2: And one of the problems that we have is that 152 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:14,000 Speaker 2: really our government policies for decades now have not accounted 153 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:15,520 Speaker 2: for what's going on the farms on the ground. We 154 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:17,640 Speaker 2: saw this during the farm crisis the nineteen eighties. We 155 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:19,800 Speaker 2: tell the story in my book. My parents were born 156 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:22,760 Speaker 2: or excuse me, were married in nineteen seventy six. That 157 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:25,840 Speaker 2: year was a drought. They almost didn't make it through 158 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:28,880 Speaker 2: that year, and they were able to do it through 159 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:31,160 Speaker 2: hard work and banding together with neighbors. If they hadn't 160 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:32,400 Speaker 2: been able to do that, they had to take out 161 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:34,200 Speaker 2: a whole lot of debt just to survive the year. 162 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:36,120 Speaker 1: And they'll need those neighbors. 163 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:39,320 Speaker 2: That's right, that's right, And the nineteen eighties farm crisis 164 00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:40,960 Speaker 2: wiped out farms that took on a lot of debt. 165 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:42,680 Speaker 2: So if my parents hadn't been able to avoid that 166 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:45,040 Speaker 2: debt just before that economic storm hit, there'd have been 167 00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:47,880 Speaker 2: huge trouble. And our government for a very long time 168 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:50,200 Speaker 2: has failed to understand. And what I'll say is the 169 00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:53,000 Speaker 2: Democrats have generally decided that this government program or that 170 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 2: program is going to solve things, and something that for 171 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:58,680 Speaker 2: a while the Republicans forgotten. I think that this is changing, 172 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:01,400 Speaker 2: but for a while, the books forgot that the farmer 173 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:02,800 Speaker 2: is the little guy. And then we have to stand 174 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:05,600 Speaker 2: up for small independent farmers and small independent businesses in 175 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:07,559 Speaker 2: this country too, And a lot of that is changing now, 176 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:10,720 Speaker 2: but the reality is that farmers have felt left behind 177 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:12,239 Speaker 2: for a very long time in many ways. 178 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:15,120 Speaker 1: Let's take a quick commercial break. We'll continue next on 179 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:20,920 Speaker 1: the Tutor Dixon Podcast. It's interesting that you said that 180 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:23,560 Speaker 1: about Republicans. I was at a meeting just over the 181 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:25,520 Speaker 1: weekend where we you know, it was one of the 182 00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:28,720 Speaker 1: GOP dinners where everybody comes and they they give their 183 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:31,720 Speaker 1: shpiels to why they should be elected, and over and 184 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:34,480 Speaker 1: over again I heard Republicans get up and say government 185 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:37,840 Speaker 1: needs to help step into the family farm and take 186 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:41,600 Speaker 1: over and give money and give and be involved in 187 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:44,280 Speaker 1: the details of the family farm. And I thought, I 188 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:47,400 Speaker 1: am not hearing that from farmers. Get out of our 189 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:51,760 Speaker 1: family farm. The government in Michigan is so heavily involved 190 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:55,200 Speaker 1: in the family farm. You've got the environmentalists that are 191 00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:57,920 Speaker 1: in there all the time constantly, Oh, we don't like 192 00:08:58,000 --> 00:08:59,960 Speaker 1: the way you're getting rid of waste, we don't like 193 00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:02,520 Speaker 1: the way you're dealing with water, we don't like the 194 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:05,720 Speaker 1: way you're washing your machinery. They are telling me on 195 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:10,040 Speaker 1: a regular basis, get off our land. How did this 196 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:12,959 Speaker 1: happen that Republicans started to get the wrong idea about 197 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:15,040 Speaker 1: how government reacts to business. 198 00:09:15,559 --> 00:09:18,559 Speaker 2: Here's what happened in the case of farms, going back 199 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:21,520 Speaker 2: to the Depression, there was this huge government intervention right 200 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:24,800 Speaker 2: into our farms, into our agriculture, and agriculture government got 201 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:28,120 Speaker 2: all wound up together, and whether that was right or wrong, 202 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:30,280 Speaker 2: a lot of it people thought was going to be emergency, 203 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:33,400 Speaker 2: and after the Depression it really wasn't. It just continued 204 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:36,840 Speaker 2: and what our government did under both parties, the establishment 205 00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:39,120 Speaker 2: of the Republican Party as well as the Democrats just 206 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:42,160 Speaker 2: kind of kept piling government programs on top of government programs. Right. 207 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:44,240 Speaker 2: So now we have the current farm program and I 208 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:47,839 Speaker 2: think that people inside farming, outside farming, all over the 209 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:51,000 Speaker 2: political spectrum, none of them like what we have with 210 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:54,800 Speaker 2: our farm programs. Everyone has something to criticize about farm subsidies, right. 211 00:09:55,080 --> 00:09:57,240 Speaker 2: And the reason that it's so bad is because we've 212 00:09:57,280 --> 00:09:59,680 Speaker 2: got just program after program pile on top one another. 213 00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:02,360 Speaker 2: We which ones are working. We don't know which ones 214 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:04,280 Speaker 2: are contradictory because a lot of them do run into 215 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:06,200 Speaker 2: one another, and we don't know which ones have become 216 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:09,480 Speaker 2: prone to favoritims and abuse. And that's even before you 217 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:12,319 Speaker 2: get into the way that increasing regulations, in increasing tax 218 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:15,200 Speaker 2: has caused problems for farmers every single day. So we 219 00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:17,760 Speaker 2: need a bipartisan family farm moonshot where we go through 220 00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:20,440 Speaker 2: all these programs, figure out which ones are working and 221 00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:21,960 Speaker 2: which ones aren't, get rid of the ones that aren't, 222 00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:23,400 Speaker 2: make sure the ones that are there are doing what 223 00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:26,240 Speaker 2: they're supposed to do. Because it is true in this country, Tutor, 224 00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:30,560 Speaker 2: that farmers are both able to say, hey, where are 225 00:10:30,559 --> 00:10:34,960 Speaker 2: my taxpayers going? Mirror my taxpayer dollars going, and where's 226 00:10:34,960 --> 00:10:37,000 Speaker 2: that support that was supposed to become over the family farm. 227 00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:39,520 Speaker 2: Both things are true. Taxpayers and farmers both deserve to 228 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:42,040 Speaker 2: be frustrated because our government isn't working right and it's 229 00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:42,880 Speaker 2: just standing in the way. 230 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:46,200 Speaker 1: How much danger are we in, though, to really have 231 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:50,240 Speaker 1: a food availability problem here in the United States? Because 232 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:53,319 Speaker 1: we are seeing farms close. It seems like, I mean, 233 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:55,959 Speaker 1: as I'm reading about what's going on, it's like, Okay, 234 00:10:57,080 --> 00:11:00,640 Speaker 1: meat and dairy farms are closing. It's not a necessarily 235 00:11:00,679 --> 00:11:02,840 Speaker 1: affecting the amount of meat and dairy that we have. 236 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:06,080 Speaker 1: But now we've got these powerful conglomerates and the family 237 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:08,480 Speaker 1: farm is no longer there. What does that mean for 238 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:09,520 Speaker 1: the future of the country. 239 00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:12,560 Speaker 2: Yeah, what we're seeing is the warning shots of an 240 00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:17,800 Speaker 2: incredibly unsustainable, incredibly insecure food supply. We saw it during COVID. 241 00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:19,480 Speaker 2: We also see it with bird flu. What I mean 242 00:11:19,520 --> 00:11:21,880 Speaker 2: by that is, people remember during COVID you couldn't find 243 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:23,560 Speaker 2: the food you need on the grocery store shelves. If 244 00:11:23,559 --> 00:11:25,720 Speaker 2: you could, the price is way through the roof. That 245 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:28,719 Speaker 2: was the same time that farmers were struggling to sell 246 00:11:28,760 --> 00:11:31,840 Speaker 2: their goods. The problem wasn't farmers willing to sell and 247 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:34,720 Speaker 2: customers wanting to buy. The problem was our vulnerable supply chain. 248 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:37,880 Speaker 2: So as we lose farms that we've been losing farms 249 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:40,000 Speaker 2: at the rate of forty five thousand a year for 250 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:42,760 Speaker 2: the past see forty five thousand a year for the 251 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:45,080 Speaker 2: past century on average. 252 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:48,160 Speaker 1: How is that possible that the supply has not gone 253 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:50,640 Speaker 1: dramatically down. I don't understand. 254 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:55,480 Speaker 2: And that's what's happened is we have roughly it's less 255 00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:57,679 Speaker 2: land somewhat but roughly the same on the land, roughly 256 00:11:57,679 --> 00:11:59,559 Speaker 2: the same amount of food being produced by just far 257 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:01,959 Speaker 2: fewer and your companies. And it's not just farms, all 258 00:12:02,040 --> 00:12:04,440 Speaker 2: the companies that are in between the farms and the 259 00:12:04,600 --> 00:12:07,160 Speaker 2: dinner table. And so what happens when you have these 260 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:11,400 Speaker 2: really consolidated industries is if you have one great, big 261 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:14,839 Speaker 2: distribution center go down, that affects the supply of whatever 262 00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:16,840 Speaker 2: that food is. So we saw it across all kinds 263 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:19,040 Speaker 2: of food with COVID during bird flu. We saw it 264 00:12:19,040 --> 00:12:21,520 Speaker 2: with chicken and eggs. If you had one big distribution 265 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:23,840 Speaker 2: center go down, or one, you know, whatever the case 266 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:27,720 Speaker 2: may be. A logistical thing with trucks, something happens. It 267 00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:29,680 Speaker 2: has a massive impact on our supply chain. The price 268 00:12:29,679 --> 00:12:31,920 Speaker 2: of food goes up, and so what we're seeing with 269 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:34,240 Speaker 2: COVID bird flu, this stuff happens all the time. The 270 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:36,199 Speaker 2: reason that the price of food has gone up so 271 00:12:36,320 --> 00:12:38,520 Speaker 2: much faster than that runaway inflation that we had a 272 00:12:38,559 --> 00:12:41,319 Speaker 2: couple of years ago is because we have a vulnerable 273 00:12:41,559 --> 00:12:44,520 Speaker 2: supply chain that is constantly facing these shocks, and so 274 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:46,960 Speaker 2: we're seeing kind of the warning shots of a deeply 275 00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:49,240 Speaker 2: vulnerable food supply every day. 276 00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:53,120 Speaker 1: How has lobbying hurt farming? We had John Stossel on 277 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:55,560 Speaker 1: here a few weeks ago and he was talking about 278 00:12:55,559 --> 00:13:00,200 Speaker 1: how lobbying. The Humane Society has this huge lobby that 279 00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:04,160 Speaker 1: was going into states and getting stores that sell puppies 280 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:06,440 Speaker 1: shut down because they had that power, They had so 281 00:13:06,559 --> 00:13:09,440 Speaker 1: much money that they had created this narrative that they 282 00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:12,520 Speaker 1: were unsafe and that these dogs were from puppy mills, 283 00:13:12,559 --> 00:13:15,719 Speaker 1: and there was this whole hullabaloo. We can't have these 284 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:18,120 Speaker 1: puppy mills out there, so we're going to shut it down. 285 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:21,559 Speaker 1: The truth was those stores were not unsafe, The dogs 286 00:13:21,559 --> 00:13:24,080 Speaker 1: were not coming from unsafe places. They had to actually 287 00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:26,719 Speaker 1: be cared for. It was actually more controls when you 288 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:29,439 Speaker 1: knew where these dogs were coming from. But that's how 289 00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:32,400 Speaker 1: this lobbying works. And it's not unlike what I've heard 290 00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:36,920 Speaker 1: from farmers where slaughterhouses have been shut down. Family slaughterhouses. 291 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:40,560 Speaker 1: You have to go to these big corporations. And I mean, 292 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:44,160 Speaker 1: I know that Thomas Massey doesn't have a great reputation 293 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:46,719 Speaker 1: right now in Washington, but I remember years ago he 294 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:49,480 Speaker 1: had the Prime Act, which was going to say, hey, 295 00:13:49,559 --> 00:13:53,040 Speaker 1: we've got to be allowed allowing these family slaughterhouses to 296 00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:56,440 Speaker 1: open back up, because you're shutting down the family farm. 297 00:13:56,600 --> 00:13:59,040 Speaker 1: They're not unhealthy, they're not unsafe. This was just a 298 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:02,079 Speaker 1: massive amount of money from these big corporations that went 299 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:04,959 Speaker 1: to government and bought essentially the right to shut down 300 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:06,080 Speaker 1: the family slaughterhouse. 301 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:09,120 Speaker 2: Yeah. You know, here's what happens with government power. It 302 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:11,559 Speaker 2: accumulates and it keeps building. And so once you have 303 00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:13,240 Speaker 2: an interest of one kind or another that gets a 304 00:14:13,280 --> 00:14:15,599 Speaker 2: whole bunch of power, they just keep on growing it 305 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:18,280 Speaker 2: because they're able to write the policies. And also it's 306 00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:21,720 Speaker 2: the biggest players in any industry that not only are 307 00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:23,800 Speaker 2: able to pay the lobbyists, but they're also able to 308 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:26,400 Speaker 2: pay the armies of lawyers and accountants that it takes 309 00:14:26,680 --> 00:14:30,000 Speaker 2: to navigate government. And so what happens is even let's 310 00:14:30,040 --> 00:14:31,720 Speaker 2: just say for a second that there's like a well 311 00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:35,640 Speaker 2: intentioned regulation of some kind, right, even the well intentioned 312 00:14:35,680 --> 00:14:38,640 Speaker 2: regulations at which many are not. But even a well 313 00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:41,440 Speaker 2: intentioned one goes across an entire industry, and it's the 314 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:44,800 Speaker 2: biggest players that are best able to deal with it, 315 00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:46,760 Speaker 2: navigate it. They have the money and they have the 316 00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:50,160 Speaker 2: resources and the professionals to help them navigate through those 317 00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:53,440 Speaker 2: stormy waters of government. And so it's always the mom 318 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:56,400 Speaker 2: and pop shops of any industry that get affected. In 319 00:14:56,440 --> 00:14:58,400 Speaker 2: the case of farms, what has really happened is farms 320 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:00,320 Speaker 2: have been forced to get bigger or get out. I mean, 321 00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:01,760 Speaker 2: you know where I grew up, we still have some 322 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:04,400 Speaker 2: small farms, got some medium farms, some larger farms. And 323 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:06,440 Speaker 2: I'll be honest with you. You know, you look down 324 00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:08,400 Speaker 2: the road and whatever size the farm is these days, 325 00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:11,120 Speaker 2: we're happy that the farms are surviving, and we hope 326 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:13,080 Speaker 2: that we can have more farms of all sizes, including 327 00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:15,240 Speaker 2: small farms. We're happy farms are surviving because they've been 328 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:17,320 Speaker 2: forced to get bigger, get out, and it's really been 329 00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:21,960 Speaker 2: done by other bigger industries and government officials who haven't 330 00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:25,200 Speaker 2: understood what's going on, and farms of any size right now, 331 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:27,160 Speaker 2: even the bigger ones in many cases are the little 332 00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:29,760 Speaker 2: guy relative to the folks that they're dealing with in 333 00:15:29,800 --> 00:15:30,760 Speaker 2: the global economy. 334 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:33,520 Speaker 1: Let me ask you about work on the farm, because 335 00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:36,880 Speaker 1: we've heard from Democrats that if there's a closed border 336 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:39,280 Speaker 1: that there won't be anybody to work on the farms. 337 00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:42,240 Speaker 1: We have migrant workers in Michigan that go all over 338 00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:44,480 Speaker 1: the country. They go from farm to farm. They're not 339 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:48,800 Speaker 1: illegal immigrants, they are legal, and they go from state 340 00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:53,000 Speaker 1: to state to farm. What is your impression of what 341 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:55,400 Speaker 1: they're saying? Is that accurate that if the border is 342 00:15:55,440 --> 00:15:58,760 Speaker 1: closed will struggle? I mean, and if it were accurate, 343 00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:00,640 Speaker 1: I would say, okay, there are way to solve that 344 00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:03,240 Speaker 1: without having an open a border obviously, But what are 345 00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:04,760 Speaker 1: you hearing from the farming industry. 346 00:16:05,040 --> 00:16:07,600 Speaker 2: Yeah? Absolutely, you know, this is another issue where our 347 00:16:07,600 --> 00:16:11,240 Speaker 2: farms are caught in cross cutting political winds because many 348 00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:13,680 Speaker 2: farmers from rural America, I mean a lot of President 349 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:16,680 Speaker 2: Trump's support came from rural America and many farmers that 350 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:19,360 Speaker 2: included support from making sure that we secure our border, 351 00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:23,000 Speaker 2: and that's from families that field that that's important, while 352 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:25,960 Speaker 2: at the same time they may have immigrant labor people 353 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:28,240 Speaker 2: that they work with. About half of our labor for 354 00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:31,200 Speaker 2: farms comes from immigrant labor in this country. Here's the reality. 355 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:34,280 Speaker 2: What you said is exactly right. We can both secure 356 00:16:34,320 --> 00:16:37,720 Speaker 2: the border and have a legally secured workforce. The H 357 00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:41,000 Speaker 2: two A Farm Visa Worker program is a program that 358 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:44,200 Speaker 2: can be used you can secure legal workforce. I mean, 359 00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:46,040 Speaker 2: what we really need to be doing is focusing on 360 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:47,600 Speaker 2: things that we can all agree on, like crack down 361 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:49,920 Speaker 2: on the cartels that don't only traffic drugs, they also 362 00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:52,440 Speaker 2: traffic people, and they make it harder for farms and 363 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:55,120 Speaker 2: other businesses to know whether the people that they're employing 364 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:58,360 Speaker 2: have a legal status or don't have a legal status. Right, 365 00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:01,320 Speaker 2: So we can have this world where we secure the 366 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:04,720 Speaker 2: border and where we are able to secure the workforce 367 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:08,240 Speaker 2: that we need through legal forms such as the farm program. 368 00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:10,680 Speaker 2: And you see that across Michigan where I'm from, our 369 00:17:10,680 --> 00:17:13,679 Speaker 2: farmer was a little small to have immigrant labor, but 370 00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:16,040 Speaker 2: you know, farms that weren't much bigger than ours did. 371 00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:19,280 Speaker 2: And you know, we can walk and chew gum at 372 00:17:19,320 --> 00:17:21,359 Speaker 2: the same time. I think the American people do that 373 00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:24,320 Speaker 2: kind of thing all day. Only Congress would leave us 374 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:26,879 Speaker 2: in this place where they we are forced by the 375 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:29,440 Speaker 2: politicians and the media to feel like we have to 376 00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:34,480 Speaker 2: choose between, you know, a legal workforce or a secure border. 377 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:35,439 Speaker 2: We don't have to do that. 378 00:17:36,760 --> 00:17:39,560 Speaker 1: Such an interesting point. I mean, in the manufacturing world, 379 00:17:39,600 --> 00:17:42,560 Speaker 1: I think that we cross paths quite a bit. When 380 00:17:42,560 --> 00:17:45,040 Speaker 1: I would go and talk to our farmers and talk 381 00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:47,720 Speaker 1: about some of the challenges that we faced in manufacturing 382 00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:50,960 Speaker 1: at the steel foundry, they would say, it's amazing how 383 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:54,199 Speaker 1: much that overlaps with the challenges that we face. And 384 00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:55,920 Speaker 1: it was the same I was talking to a friend 385 00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:58,200 Speaker 1: I had worked with years ago the other day, and 386 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:00,440 Speaker 1: he was just going on and on about how could 387 00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:03,320 Speaker 1: Trump do this, this whole idea of though they're kidnapping 388 00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:05,439 Speaker 1: people off the streets. I said, you worked at the 389 00:18:05,480 --> 00:18:08,080 Speaker 1: shop with me. You don't remember Ice coming in and 390 00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:11,719 Speaker 1: rating the shop and taking people out because we didn't know. 391 00:18:11,800 --> 00:18:14,919 Speaker 1: I mean, they had they had papers that seemed that 392 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:18,879 Speaker 1: they were legit. They weren't legit. Do you did you 393 00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:22,959 Speaker 1: consider that kidnapping them? Oh, they're not even committing crimes. 394 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:25,880 Speaker 1: I said, by your standard, these people didn't either. They 395 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:30,040 Speaker 1: were they stole someone's identity, they were making money, but 396 00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:33,119 Speaker 1: they you know, that wasn't a crime. That was like, 397 00:18:33,359 --> 00:18:36,359 Speaker 1: you know, you weren't killing someone, so under your theory, 398 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:40,240 Speaker 1: that's not a crime. But it was always happening. How 399 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:43,960 Speaker 1: did the Democrats effectively turn this narrative when Obama was 400 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:46,640 Speaker 1: the deporter in chief, like I said, coming in rating 401 00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:49,520 Speaker 1: and he was raiding farms, he was raiding manufacturing facilities. 402 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:52,920 Speaker 1: I'm sure he was also raiding slaughterhouses at that time. 403 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:56,479 Speaker 1: It was never reported on. There was never a report 404 00:18:56,520 --> 00:18:59,800 Speaker 1: in Michigan when we were rated. How did they how 405 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:01,880 Speaker 1: did they flipped this narrative. Is it just that they 406 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:05,240 Speaker 1: don't have they're not able to get rural America, and 407 00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:07,879 Speaker 1: so they've decided they're going to try to come up 408 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:10,240 Speaker 1: with some narrative that will get people out to vote. 409 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:12,679 Speaker 2: You know, I think there's a lot of politics that 410 00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:15,359 Speaker 2: get played and that factor into that kind of thing. 411 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:17,160 Speaker 2: The other thing I think that's going on is there's 412 00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:20,080 Speaker 2: these big structural changes, like as we have more of 413 00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:23,920 Speaker 2: rural America voting Republican, more of urban America voting Democrat, 414 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:27,600 Speaker 2: and our cities really become like islands of like deep 415 00:19:27,720 --> 00:19:30,520 Speaker 2: deep blue. That's happening at the same time that we've 416 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:32,360 Speaker 2: lost a lot of media outlets. You've lost a lot 417 00:19:32,359 --> 00:19:35,439 Speaker 2: of local, hometown newspapers that didn't care about one on 418 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:37,320 Speaker 2: in New York City. They cared about what was going 419 00:19:37,359 --> 00:19:39,560 Speaker 2: on with the local basketball game, you know, And we've 420 00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:42,440 Speaker 2: lost a lot of papers like that and other news 421 00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:45,639 Speaker 2: outlets like that. And so what happens is you have 422 00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:50,120 Speaker 2: so much of the media narrative is dominated by people 423 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:53,880 Speaker 2: who are in really big cities who either their media 424 00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:55,880 Speaker 2: outlets are the ones that reach these areas, or there's 425 00:19:55,960 --> 00:19:58,000 Speaker 2: media outlets own the media outlets in those areas. And 426 00:19:58,040 --> 00:20:00,280 Speaker 2: so that's another form of anschio consolidation. We have this 427 00:20:00,359 --> 00:20:04,480 Speaker 2: world where we don't have rural and urban really talking, 428 00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:08,920 Speaker 2: and we don't have media that is showing people information 429 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:11,560 Speaker 2: that we can all agree on, like basic facts. It's 430 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:13,080 Speaker 2: just gotten worse and worse. And so I think that's 431 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:14,560 Speaker 2: a big part of it too, is just the way 432 00:20:14,600 --> 00:20:16,760 Speaker 2: that our media has gradually gotten out of touch with 433 00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:19,520 Speaker 2: what's going on in our small towns, on our rural areas, 434 00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:21,639 Speaker 2: and even our medium sized cities. You know, anything that 435 00:20:21,680 --> 00:20:24,280 Speaker 2: isn't a big, major urban center. They're kind of out 436 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:24,880 Speaker 2: of touch with. 437 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:27,719 Speaker 1: Let's take a quick commercial break. We'll continue next on 438 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:33,520 Speaker 1: the Tutor Dixon Podcast. You make such a great point 439 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:36,000 Speaker 1: that I think people don't necessarily understand. I mean, as 440 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:38,960 Speaker 1: we're talking about farms getting bigger and fewer and fewer 441 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:41,960 Speaker 1: people owning farms, they just are getting bigger and becoming 442 00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:45,200 Speaker 1: big corporations. It's the same thing with the local newspaper. 443 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:48,000 Speaker 1: It's the same thing with your local news station. Your 444 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:51,719 Speaker 1: news station is a part of news stations across the country. 445 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:55,840 Speaker 1: You've seen those those videos where you see fifty different 446 00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:59,159 Speaker 1: news stations all having the same report. It's true. It 447 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:01,880 Speaker 1: literally they're being bought up by one side or the other, 448 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:04,720 Speaker 1: one political side or the other. And behind the scenes, 449 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:07,000 Speaker 1: I mean, you and I have probably heard the same thing. 450 00:21:07,040 --> 00:21:09,120 Speaker 1: It's like, Okay, if we can get all of these 451 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:12,560 Speaker 1: local newspapers, it will seem very organic that this is 452 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:14,639 Speaker 1: the message that is being put out, when it is 453 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:17,400 Speaker 1: actually a political message that is being put out. 454 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:19,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's part of the problem, and things just get 455 00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:22,520 Speaker 2: further and further out of touch with every day people 456 00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:25,200 Speaker 2: now there are really good people at companies of all kinds, 457 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:27,480 Speaker 2: and there are good people at you know that are 458 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:30,720 Speaker 2: trying to fight these kinds of forces anywhere everywhere, right, 459 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:33,639 Speaker 2: But it's individual people against a bigger system that is 460 00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:37,639 Speaker 2: really just disconnecting people from one another, you know. And 461 00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:40,200 Speaker 2: that's you know, you said the word community. I thought 462 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:41,919 Speaker 2: that was so important because where I'm from, where I 463 00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:44,560 Speaker 2: grew up, and I know that it's similar where your 464 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:47,320 Speaker 2: folks are from. You know, you've got that individualism that 465 00:21:47,359 --> 00:21:50,600 Speaker 2: it takes to deal with whatever your problem is, you know, 466 00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:52,760 Speaker 2: out on the farm, out on the factory floor, whatever 467 00:21:52,760 --> 00:21:54,600 Speaker 2: it is. And you've also got that sense of community, 468 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:57,920 Speaker 2: come running when a neighbor's in trouble, and those two things. 469 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:00,240 Speaker 2: You can be individualistic and you can also care about 470 00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:04,000 Speaker 2: your community. And I think a lot of people, especially 471 00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:05,919 Speaker 2: in our media narrative. Maybe isn't true in our day 472 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:08,280 Speaker 2: to day lives as much, but especially in the media 473 00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:10,119 Speaker 2: and invent and the social media narrative, it feels like 474 00:22:10,359 --> 00:22:13,040 Speaker 2: we're all just so disconnected and that sense of local 475 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:14,359 Speaker 2: community is so important. 476 00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:16,320 Speaker 1: I think you make a good point because right now 477 00:22:16,359 --> 00:22:19,240 Speaker 1: we're seeing this return to church, We're seeing young men 478 00:22:19,480 --> 00:22:22,520 Speaker 1: returning to the church. The churches is very powerful in 479 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:26,120 Speaker 1: the rural areas, and as I've been researching, I think 480 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:30,040 Speaker 1: I've mentioned on the podcast, there's been evidence even in 481 00:22:30,119 --> 00:22:34,000 Speaker 1: Afrikatrina that the areas that had higher church membership, they 482 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:36,960 Speaker 1: were able to return to normal faster and in fact 483 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:39,920 Speaker 1: even grow because of that support system and always knowing 484 00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:42,480 Speaker 1: there was a home base that had the supplies you needed. 485 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:45,840 Speaker 1: I think that that has threatened Democrats coming up in 486 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:49,399 Speaker 1: this election, because obviously we saw what happened with Charlie 487 00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:53,280 Speaker 1: Kirk and then instead of rioting and people arguing and 488 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:55,920 Speaker 1: screaming and yelling, we ended up having the largest church 489 00:22:55,960 --> 00:22:58,840 Speaker 1: service we've ever seen, and kind of this revival of 490 00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:01,359 Speaker 1: we're going to rely on each other, we're gonna forgive, 491 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:03,680 Speaker 1: we're going to move on, we're going to love one another. 492 00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:06,840 Speaker 1: That's something that we haven't seen coming out of their party. 493 00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:08,760 Speaker 1: In fact, you look at what's happening in New York 494 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:11,960 Speaker 1: right now, and they're all kind of fractured. You see 495 00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:14,359 Speaker 1: Hakim Jeffries is still being asked, are you going to 496 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:17,320 Speaker 1: endorse mom? Donnie? Nobody knows what he's going to do. 497 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:19,920 Speaker 1: He's in a real bat He's in a pretty rough 498 00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:23,320 Speaker 1: situation because you're talking about someone who's socialist. He's saying 499 00:23:23,359 --> 00:23:25,480 Speaker 1: he's a socialist. A lot of the things that he's 500 00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:29,080 Speaker 1: promoting are actually communists. The city of New York. We 501 00:23:29,119 --> 00:23:31,800 Speaker 1: don't know what will happen to it. Democrats have this 502 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:34,680 Speaker 1: kind of fractured message right now of the far left 503 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:37,720 Speaker 1: and then trying to pull toward the middle. And those 504 00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:40,040 Speaker 1: who are trying to pull toward the middle are still 505 00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:43,159 Speaker 1: absolutely struggling with that. This is hard for them in 506 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:46,040 Speaker 1: the midterms. But they did the same thing with the 507 00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:49,239 Speaker 1: government shut down in twenty eighteen. They believe that this 508 00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:52,640 Speaker 1: hurts the president. It's interesting. I have a friend who 509 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:56,000 Speaker 1: is my age. She's not a conservative. I noticed a 510 00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:58,879 Speaker 1: post on Facebook about the government shut down because her 511 00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:02,840 Speaker 1: Snap benefits are under threat. She's disabled, she gets Snap benefits, 512 00:24:03,240 --> 00:24:05,879 Speaker 1: and the end of her post was very interesting to me. 513 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:08,679 Speaker 1: Someone who, like I said, not a conservative. She's signed 514 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:11,359 Speaker 1: off with this by saying thanks a lot, Dems. Now, 515 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:14,800 Speaker 1: I thought, wow, that must really be painful for the 516 00:24:14,800 --> 00:24:18,920 Speaker 1: Democrats because this is non political, non conservative person who 517 00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:23,240 Speaker 1: is recognizing, probably for one of the first times, that 518 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:26,320 Speaker 1: it is the Democrats who chose to shut down the government, 519 00:24:26,560 --> 00:24:29,200 Speaker 1: and they are harming the people that need to help 520 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:32,119 Speaker 1: the most. What does this do? Does this have the 521 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:35,280 Speaker 1: same effect as twenty eighteen? Or does this shutdown hurt 522 00:24:35,280 --> 00:24:36,200 Speaker 1: the Democrats? 523 00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:39,560 Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, it's really hard to say, partially because 524 00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:42,320 Speaker 2: your narrative is going to go and what people are 525 00:24:42,359 --> 00:24:44,359 Speaker 2: going to be told. And there's also the fact that 526 00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:47,439 Speaker 2: you know, midterms can always naturally be challenging for the 527 00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:49,399 Speaker 2: party that has the White House, right, like, just that 528 00:24:50,119 --> 00:24:54,000 Speaker 2: situation that can occur irregardless. But I do think that 529 00:24:54,040 --> 00:24:57,159 Speaker 2: when you think about what's going on with the shutdown 530 00:24:57,359 --> 00:24:59,959 Speaker 2: and with any of these other issues, I think that people, 531 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:03,000 Speaker 2: especially in rural areas. And I don't speak for all 532 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:05,399 Speaker 2: farmers or everybody, but in rural areas, I think what 533 00:25:05,520 --> 00:25:07,760 Speaker 2: people are interested in it is who's going to upset 534 00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:11,080 Speaker 2: the economic status quo to try to make things better 535 00:25:11,119 --> 00:25:13,280 Speaker 2: for me? And I think it's similar you know, in 536 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:15,760 Speaker 2: Still Country and other places, because these are places that 537 00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:19,200 Speaker 2: have been seeing economic decline for decades. You know, it's 538 00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:21,200 Speaker 2: not just like whatever has happened in the economy the 539 00:25:21,280 --> 00:25:25,320 Speaker 2: last couple of years or whatever. You know, it's really about, Hey, 540 00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:28,440 Speaker 2: you know, we've been losing our farms, we've been losing 541 00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:32,040 Speaker 2: our other resource industries. We've been losing population in small towns, 542 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:34,879 Speaker 2: we've been losing industrial jobs in more recent decades, and 543 00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:38,239 Speaker 2: so people have been seeing their economy decline. Even if 544 00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:40,359 Speaker 2: the unemployment number or the stock market is going up 545 00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:42,920 Speaker 2: or down, there's still an overall decline going on in 546 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:45,320 Speaker 2: a lot of rural and small town America. And so 547 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:47,639 Speaker 2: I think people are interested in hearing who's going to 548 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:50,199 Speaker 2: do something to make my life better economically, who's going 549 00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:52,480 Speaker 2: to change and shake things up? And the problem with 550 00:25:52,560 --> 00:25:55,000 Speaker 2: the shutdown is what they're hearing is just more games 551 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:59,399 Speaker 2: in Washington, shutting things down for political reasons, more getting 552 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:01,600 Speaker 2: filled by more politicians who've been out of touch with 553 00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:02,280 Speaker 2: them for decades. 554 00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:06,760 Speaker 1: Anyway, how do people feel about the Secretary of Agriculture? 555 00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:10,760 Speaker 1: We have Brick Rowlins now as the Secretary of ag 556 00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:14,200 Speaker 1: We a lot of us learned for the first time 557 00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:16,439 Speaker 1: that she has She went to school for this, she 558 00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:19,240 Speaker 1: was in four age, she was a farmer. She grew 559 00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:22,840 Speaker 1: up in the world of agriculture. But she has been 560 00:26:22,920 --> 00:26:25,320 Speaker 1: hit by the media so many times as just this 561 00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:28,080 Speaker 1: pretty face that doesn't know anything about this industry, which 562 00:26:28,119 --> 00:26:30,439 Speaker 1: is a total lie. How do farmers feel about what 563 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:31,080 Speaker 1: she's been doing. 564 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:34,560 Speaker 2: I think farmers have felt as I've talked with honestly, farmers, 565 00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:38,280 Speaker 2: rank and file, egg groups, people really from different parts 566 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:40,919 Speaker 2: of the political spectrum. They say that they feel that 567 00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:43,680 Speaker 2: she listens. They feel that there's an ear at the 568 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:46,399 Speaker 2: USDA to hear what they're saying, talk about it and 569 00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:48,919 Speaker 2: try to balance these things. For example, you know, and 570 00:26:48,960 --> 00:26:51,720 Speaker 2: she's talked about, you know the fact that with tariffs, 571 00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:54,000 Speaker 2: you know, you can use tariffs to get tougher negotiations, 572 00:26:54,119 --> 00:26:57,080 Speaker 2: create morefare trade, you know, drive harder bargains with countries, 573 00:26:57,119 --> 00:26:58,600 Speaker 2: but we have to be aware there's an impact on 574 00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:01,320 Speaker 2: our farmers. In the meantime, she talked about those things, 575 00:27:01,560 --> 00:27:03,720 Speaker 2: you know, when we talk about trying to find a 576 00:27:03,760 --> 00:27:06,280 Speaker 2: way to make America healthy again and do that in 577 00:27:06,280 --> 00:27:09,000 Speaker 2: a way that makes sure that farming doesn't get hit 578 00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:10,680 Speaker 2: with government mandates and get what, you know, take the 579 00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:13,320 Speaker 2: good of make America healthy again, and make sure also 580 00:27:13,359 --> 00:27:15,560 Speaker 2: that we're helping farms that are small businesses not deal 581 00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:18,760 Speaker 2: with heavy handed government. I think they feel like Secretary 582 00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:21,600 Speaker 2: Rollins is stopping and listening and trying to balance some 583 00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:24,760 Speaker 2: very very difficult things well. 584 00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:27,760 Speaker 1: Good, and I hope that we see some relief for 585 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:30,480 Speaker 1: our farmers soon. I hope that this shutdown ends. We'll 586 00:27:30,520 --> 00:27:33,240 Speaker 1: see what the Democrats decide. I kind of wonder if 587 00:27:33,280 --> 00:27:36,080 Speaker 1: they're trying to get through the election in November and 588 00:27:36,119 --> 00:27:39,119 Speaker 1: see what happens in Virginia, what happens in New Jersey, 589 00:27:39,160 --> 00:27:42,680 Speaker 1: what happens in New York. Obviously those are big elections 590 00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:45,879 Speaker 1: for everybody, and they right now seem to have the 591 00:27:45,960 --> 00:27:49,080 Speaker 1: upper hand in those states. But we'll see what happens. 592 00:27:49,119 --> 00:27:51,879 Speaker 1: So I appreciate you being here. Brian Riisinger, Thank you 593 00:27:51,960 --> 00:27:53,639 Speaker 1: so much for joining the podcast today. 594 00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:55,240 Speaker 2: Thanks so much for being with me. I appreciate I 595 00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:57,000 Speaker 2: think we can find a way forward where we can 596 00:27:57,040 --> 00:27:59,040 Speaker 2: get this government opened up and we can find a 597 00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:02,480 Speaker 2: way to negotiate family first trade deals, you know, tough 598 00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:04,359 Speaker 2: deals that are fair to our farmers and our workers. 599 00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:06,680 Speaker 2: It's just a matter of the politicians understand what's going 600 00:28:06,680 --> 00:28:08,320 Speaker 2: on the ground and trying to get some work done. 601 00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:11,960 Speaker 1: Well. Hopefully that helps having a Secretary of Agriculture who 602 00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:15,119 Speaker 1: understands and Secretary Rollins is able to take that back 603 00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:18,840 Speaker 1: and I hope that she's able to communicate that to Congress, 604 00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:21,679 Speaker 1: although it seems like they're being stubborn at the moment. 605 00:28:21,840 --> 00:28:24,359 Speaker 1: But every day is a new day, and we wait 606 00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:27,160 Speaker 1: to hear if they've decided that they're going to push 607 00:28:27,280 --> 00:28:30,560 Speaker 1: forward and open back up the government. So we'll see, 608 00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:31,200 Speaker 1: thank you. 609 00:28:31,480 --> 00:28:31,920 Speaker 2: We'll see. 610 00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:35,040 Speaker 1: Thanks very much, absolutely, and thank you all for joining 611 00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:37,800 Speaker 1: the Tutor Dixon Podcast. As you know, you can subscribe 612 00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:40,760 Speaker 1: at Tutor dixonpodcast dot com, go to the iHeartRadio app, 613 00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:43,800 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts, and you 614 00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:46,560 Speaker 1: can always watch at Rumble or YouTube at Tutor Dixon 615 00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:48,680 Speaker 1: and join us next time. Have a blessed day.