I'm from an old coal town where the mining and manufacturing jobs are drying up and there's a sense of quiet desperation everywhere. I was lucky enough to get out, but even after a few years of college I've come back and everything is still changing. Stores closing. Family sick.
>Recommend me some good books for this lower-middle class Rust Belt America feel
>I've already read J.D. Vance
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ur late lol
The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock
Thanks -- definitely into the gritty stuff but would also enjoy some work more specifically about the crushing banality of this kind of existence
Like The Pale King but more romantic
Is Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey fitting enough?
Also, is there a good book about Matewan?
I guess a fictional treatment is too much to ask.
The death of small town America is heart wrenching, I understand OP. The city might have opportunity but depending on where you are atomization is a real problem. The best song I’ve ever heard that sums up your feelings is Kerosene by Big Black. Best film is Gummo. The novel I’m about to recommend isn’t exactly what you’re looking for but it does provide an intact historical lense on the subject of quiet class desperation. Worlds End by TC Boyle is a fun albeit challenging read. Great characters and many of them along with multiple themes of the absurdity of society and human nature.
amerisharts btfo
It's 19th century France but Germinal is really good and about coal miners.
Bastard out of Carolina
have you tried the art of the deal
small town america deserves the death its getting
fuck you
First of all You're white so you deserve this, and more.
Read The Obelisk gate from N.K.Jemisyn and learn about some real social problems.
Breece D'J Pancake's short stories.
Heavy Metal magazine.
Night in the Woods.
>small town America
Poor, Stupid, Fat and Religious™
>big black
Best albini project, very based user
back to red.dit nigger
>old coal town where the mining and manufacturing jobs are drying up
Strongly rings the John Fante bell. Not his stories about Bandini, but the ones about Dominic Molise, like The Orgy.
isn't this pretty much john steinbeck's whole career
bruce springsteen's too really
loved this game. gameplay could have been better but it perfectly fits the specific vibe we're talking about
Plenty of people address the theme or use working-class small-town America as the soul of their art. Much fewer directly address the social hollowing, and quiet desperation, in an artistic way
Texas oil town but same sense of limited opportunities if you stick around after high school
Must suck being those guys, neither side really helps them. There is no "voting in your interest" for these people.
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
yikes
>I'm from an old coal town where the mining and manufacturing jobs are drying up and there's a sense of quiet desperation everywhere. I was lucky enough to get out, but even after a few years of college I've come back and everything is still changing. Stores closing. Family sick.
serves you right for voting for trump. I hope you all starve
>I got out, luckily
>except I'm back
you can't still claim to be out when you're back in
you wasted money on college
all you got is a sense of superiority and an inability to see you wasted your money
you'll always be a "successful" loser amongst a bunch of unsuccessful losers
at least, that's what you'll think, I hope you never wake up to reality, because if you do it'll be very painful for you
Wait this is a book? I only saw the movie which was good and will give you the same sense as hill billy elegy. It also shows how decline is not a recent thing, being set in the 50s.
Imagine being american
>vote democrat for decades
>they do nothing to help at all
>votes republican once because they promise to help
>"haha you deserve this"
Further evidence its destruction was a crime, not an accident.
>trusting any politicians campaign platforms
You set yourself up for failure with that one.
So what you're saying is they should have not voted at all, rather than the one saying "I'll make your lives better"? Or should they have voted for the one saying "I'll close all the mines (which you relied on for prosperity)" which would at least be honest?
Fire in the Hole
youtube.com
what I'm saying is you retarded inbred faggots deserve to die. You're subhuman scum
>muh coal
shut the fuck up
post body
>Stores closing. Family sick.
Why do you want to waste your time reading? The fuck is your problem?
after you post your six fingered hands and webbed feet you inbred fuck
>muh "way of feeding my family"
It's always funny to hear how the bourgeois despise those who they rely on for their lives of ease. Now you've found a cheaper people further away to energize your cities and build your consumables you've thrown the people of the Rust Belt on the scrap heap of the sweat shops.
have sex..
it's funny how redneck flyover fucks who read marx's Wikipedia page think they're intelligent. You have always been weak and stupid and you blame the rest of the world for taking advantage of you. Sad!
t. Democrat who has nothing but contempt for working class middle America
Against the Day
Hey man. You have a lot of hate in your heart.
I'm just back for a little while because my dad is sick; I live in the city now and my education has me a pretty good paying job.
Would appreciate any recs you have on the themes you posted about though.
Do you agree with Mill's sentiment that the reason illiterate factory workers are exploited is that they don't read enough Malthus?
they don't do much working for a working class. They're lazy af.
>muh mines been closed
that's no excuse. build something instead of doing meth all your life.
they were lied to by hucksters and developers and now they don't want to leave because sunk cost fallacy. they're worthless to capitalists and are basically white niggers. their political position is effectively "we deserve reparations."
It makes no difference where you are. A loser is a loser anywhere.
>corrupt politicians and mega corps sell out your identity and people
>all jobs gone, people forced to move to urban centers to compete with illegal migrants for street sweeping jobs
>bro its just the free market maybe you should stop doing meth and just move somewhere else
fuck off you stupid fucking rootless urbanite.
Seeth harder you redneck piece of shit. Seeth until you fucking die.
Life isn't made to give you handouts.
>lol just build something
this isn't field of dreams bro, no demand means no economy
>handouts
lol ok pave your own roads
No work ethic means no money. Get that through your thick fucking skull.plenty of people have pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps and didn't need government handouts and investments in ancient mining technology to do it.
> muh bootstraps
Conservatives should die regardless of class or race.
all my roads are paved, albeit badly. I live in a major metropolitan center and posses a high paying job that contributes to society.
You sit on your ass in a swamp and bitch about you need mo money fo dem programs and dem mexicans took your job. We as a society don't need you.
except we won't since we figured out how to feed ourselves and don't rely on washington to solve or subsidize all our problems
>I live in a major metropolitan center
>posses a high paying job that contributes to society.
So, are you in HR, or finance?
Reading this thread is pretty funny, how did politics and media manage to devide american people in this way >
Don't pretend to comprehend the modern job market or economy. You can't even grasp the nuances of wiping your own ass.
>Don't pretend to comprehend the modern job market or economy.
So it is one of the two. I can assume from your feminine hysterics that you work in human resources.
Idk why everyone wants to pack like fucking sardines on every coast. I live in a city rn and dream of getting tf out of here desu. I really dont like where this country is headed. Just gonna be over packed techno hellholes.
the grapes of wrath
lol i lead tech at a profitable growing independently owned and operated business over 20 yrs old in an actual major metropolitan center. and i live in a MARSH. you don't know wit one about economics beyond muh taxes.
guy is in his first semester of some lower humanities course in college
You can be assured whatever I do it's better than being a NEET like yourself.
I'm actually the assistant chief of staff for a prominent Governor somewhere in the Northeast.
Imagine demanding more from a part of society and then making fun of a member of this imagined group over the internet once he tries to do that
Does anyone have any literature recs or are we just going to bitch about the subject matter all day?
You realize that even if you hate these people, there's good lit about all kinds of bad people right? Plenty of good lit about the unworthy. Pic related is a good book about a bad character with some of the themes we're supposed to be talking about in thread
This isn't fucking /pol/
nice larp,
>tech
what do you develop new bird calls for uncle cletus to amuse himself when he goes coon hunting?
But you do rely on Washington, very much so. In the first place, the U.S created the global trading environment that allowed you as a group, and (You) individually as well (maybe) to prosper - at the expense of people like OP who got fucked by it, I might add. Second, it guarantees that you can keep going that way by ensuring your safety and the safety of your property. Think of welfare as a consolation prize for those who got screwed over by globalization. If you people manage to take even that from them, then what would they do? What value do they even get out of living in the U.S as it is right now? Why should they uphold laws that barely benefit them?
It's no surprise a retard like yourself would think memecarthy is "good lit"
rick perlstein: Before the Storm, Nixonland, Invisible Bridge
lol stay mad assistant to the regional staff chief
Are you fresh off the boat from reddit? nice undergrad view of contemporary economics, kiddo but the adults are talking here.
I have more power than you could possibly imagine. I would crush you like a bug if you ever spoke to me like this in person.
>say that to me in real life and not online and see what would happen
wow i'm really fucking scared, are you gonna tax me?
You're a keyboard warrior, guy. You'll never understand.
I'm gonna tax that ass!
Middle american and southern people are pretty chill. I dont get the hate. Northerners are pretty boring in my experience
and you're a child who needs to sell his soul to leviathan to get over what a tiny dick he's got and how much dick he has to suck to become someone's assistant. what are you doing in this time zone today on a fucking wednesday morning? get some coffee and make some xeroxes.
oh wait lol you don't know shit about shit because you're a fucking liar. have fun belching your opiod addict mom's "conservative views" because you have to suck up to her or else you won't get to spend her welfare checks on tendies.
if you find drooling retards "chill"
Specifically about the opioid crisis, but I found this one pretty good
You sound upset dude. Calm down. You can always buy more meth from Emma-gene when she gets done with her shift at the tilt a whirl.
I don't have to do shit at my job because my dad is the governors biggest donor. I can shitpost on this website and make fun of you hicks all god damn day.
union elitist detected
>i get a handout from papa so i can do what i want
sasuga
Nice refutation
>New Hampshire higher IQ than Vermont
doubt
>believing in IQ
ishyggdt
you'll die poor and alone
I don't know what rust belt America is since i'm a poo in loo but i read the short stories of Breece D'J Pancake and i think he's my favorite rusty American writer along with Carver. Hope that helps. Cool pic btw
The hateful, spiteful rhetoric in this thread makes it clear to me once more:
The bastard bourgeoisie college liberal yuppie cucks hate anyone with a soul
Satantango
My treasures are stored up in a kingdom not of this world
hey man whatever lets you rationalize what a worthless piece of shit everyone you "work" with must think you are
Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, sort of
read the pale king while you watch soft core porn
who's is Wrathand why do i should care about his grape
Came here to post this.
There's a part where he talks about how the modern opioid addict is different than the junkie of the 70s and 80s, he says
>the traphouse has been replaced by the suburban bedroom
or something like that. Pretty much blames hyperindividualistic neoliberal capitalism for destroying people's sense of belonging to a community and creating the endemic isolation that the opioid crisis feeds on.
sad and out of touch core
lmao
>I give handjobs to politicians
I'm not even the guy you're having your weird fight with but man you need to kill yourself
I feel you user. It's frustrating how these threads that actually have potential seem to always get derailed. Not high lit or anything, but The Glass Castle hits on a lot of the notes that you've mentioned.
cringed pretty hard ngl
they wouldn't hesitate to supplant middle (real) America with an entire legion of third world debris.
I live in the British equivalent. High Rise is a good read and William Blake is as relevant as ever.
it was the former industrial heart of the country that has since "rusted" because of globalization. Your foul, disgusting country and its call centers are to blame for this
checked
but if india didn't exist the capitalists would've outsourced to somewhere else
ITT: Angry urban faggots complain about people who live in a different world. Sorry you can't really understand the rust belt/rural south when you've lived in a shitty metropolitan area. It is fine though, keep bitching at the people who grow your food.
true but it's really a shame that such a repugnant country is booming while American industry wanes. All of the world will be one filthy giant abominable slum if this trend continues. I would side with the fucking Muslims over India
>tfw cityslickers will never understand Faulkner
you're blaming the wrong people bro. you think some indians held guns to all the CEO's heads and said "Please to be outsourcing to India sirs" ?
As far as books, probably Steinbeck.
Music tends to be a richer area for this thanks to the Heartland Rock genre
Mellencamp
>Rain on the Scarecrow
>Golden gates
>check it out
Springsteen
>The river
>my hometown
>born in the USA
Atlantic city
Johnny 99
Tom Petty
>Rebels
>Southern Accents
>Walking from the fire
Steve Earle
>number 29
>angry young man
>The rain came down
I'm from a similar town. Read Ethan Frome.
Identity politics was forced in to replace a growing class consciousness, e.g. occupy wall street being destroyed by the progressive stack.
Not for the rich. Buy up ten thousand acres of cheap land, put an airstrip on it next to your mansion, hire what's left of the local police and the mayor for your private security. Spend a couple weeks a year at each property.
Holy shit dude, daddy got you a job with his money? Why did you post that? You're an embarrassment to your father and everyone that knows you. You don't even seem to realize your low value in their eyes.
Abandon your family user. Move to the city. Leave your community and lifelong friends to their fate. The only important thing is how much you can buy. It's not like anyone everywhere can get books, even pretty much all knowledge for free on the internet. Forfeit a contemplative country life for the post-modern; a divorce and 1.7 children who don't know you, much less respect you.
reddit; the insult
nothing of value would be lost
This image is terrible. Why is a child being presented like an adult? Isn't it pseudopedophilia?
>everyone probably hates you in real life
You're so weak dude. This post is literally the definition of soi
>Pretty much blames hyperindividualistic neoliberal capitalism for destroying people's sense of belonging to a community and creating the endemic isolation that the opioid crisis feeds on.
America always was "hyperindividualistic". All the infrastructure for suburbanization was subsidized and built under Keynesian state capitalism.
based based based based
Small town America is built on pipe dreams and pork barrel welfare projects.
/thread
So what you're saying is that America deserves to be completely destroyed.
>muh rich
>muh class consciousness
Take a helicopter ride, cuck
oh yes, the descendants of the German and Scandinavians who settled the Midwest deserve to be annihilated and replaced by the third world.
the midwest might as well already be considered 3rd world
Indians are taking over my city and the nearby cities. They're politically organized and if whites did the same thing they did they would be called Nazis
Whats the real solution though? Midwest is never making a comeback.
would you rather live in a comfy Midwestern suburb where you know everyone and don't have to lock your doors and shut your garage or San Francisco where you have to watch your step for hobo feces and AIDS needles
buddy, the kid isn't being posed by the photographer, the photographer is just taking a picture, not orchestrating what is happening. a lot of america is feral, with kids dealing with abuse and drugs and all sorts of dismal shit.
left out unskilled and uneducated
>living in a trailer park where everyone is addicted to meth and no one has been literate in decades and the winters get to 40 degrees below zero vs living in a center of culture with a few brown people and heroin addicts.
hmm that's a tough choice.
sure the Midwest has its problems. But San Francisco is a Babylonian hellscape
Napalm Silicon Valley
Firebomb Hollywood
Set off a dirty bomb on Madison Avenue
Middle America is too nice for its own good, it should reduce its internal enemies to ruin and rubble. Electing Trump was a good beginning, but more needs to be done.
I shouldn't have replied. You guys clearly want to blame minorities instead of improving yourself, let alone read or talk about literature. Makes me lose hope in literature as a way to improve as a human being. You people are pathetic human beings.
Really? "My daddy got me a minor job in politics" Let's not even talk about his life. Just that post is an embarrassment.
I'm a rich person not a Marxist. Doesn't mean that's not what happened.
The problem was mentioning you're Indian then being surprised about poo in the loo posting.
the two most notable literary figures at the moment are Rupi Kaur and Angie Thomas. Why don't you use their literature to improve yourself as a human being, or would you rather read dead white males?
Nigger the point is that no one will even give them the chance to improve themselves. Self improvement is far less "self" than we give credit.
you're an embarrassment
>all cities = SF in 2019
Nah. While we're talking about the California cities though, imagine how poor Middle America would be without the ports of Oakland, Los Angeles and Long Beach.
politics has nothing to do with any of this.
it's all about being economically obsolete, both the industry, as well as the workers.
Just look at all the abandoned mining towns across the Rocky Mountain and desert southwest.
Just look at all the virtual ghost towns in the agricultural areas of the midwest and great plains.
Bottom line $$$ is what count.
If it doesn't make any $$$ it doesn't make any sense.
> trump
> the republican "used car salesman who lies about everything" tricked me!
maybe if you're that stupid you deserve to starve.
This is why capitalism is particularly evil if you are a right-winger. Capitalism destroys Tradition. I don't know why anyone who claims to be right-wing would call themselves a capitalist. American "conservatism" is a nonsense ideology.
Feckless ingrate
>Midwest is never making a comeback.
>New autoplant opening in Detroit for first time in a decade
>Blast furnaces being reignited at steel mills that have been idle
It wont ever be the same but, things are looking up more than they had been for awhile
>tricked
He's tariffed foriegn goods like he said he'd do which is much more than any other president has done in awhile. Some will bitch and moan about the trade war, several steel companies, including Nucor have told Trump to keep the pressure on other countries up because it will help bring Steel jobs back.
Thus, I would not say weve been "tricked", at least on the economic front
>at least he did x
No one else was stupid enough to think any of this shit would be effective or good.
tariffs don't help you, protectionist retard.
Nothing is bringing steel jobs back. No one wants to pay Americans for something Germany does better.
>No one else was stupid enough to think any of this shit would be effective or good.
>T-trumps done nothing for manuafacturing
finance.yahoo.com
msn.com
wchstv.com
marketwatch.com
And speaking for the area Im in, theyre now hiring new steel workers starting at 50 grand a year, and electricians at 80 grand. He has most definetly helped manuafacturing and mining. If you say otherwise you are blind.
Im sure trump wasnt le involved like they always say. Anyway this is all pretty good news
Economists accidentally convinced politicians that GDP was the measure of a successful economy. But nothing is simple. If one economic plan grows the GDP by 5% but all of it goes to the super rich, and another distributes a 3% growth to everyone, which benefits the country more?
>imagine how poor Middle America would be without the ports of Oakland, Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Middle American primarily uses the Gulf and Great Lakes ports and the rail system. The east and west coat ports are primarily import ports for the coastal populations. The small port of Duluth/Superior does considerably more domestic tonnage than all three of the ports you listed combined. The loss of those ports would have almost no effect on Middle America.
look I can do it too but I don't have to dig as hard to find mine
nbc4i.com
forbes.com
bloomberg.com
marketwatch.com
You can't be so stupid as to think machines won't be replacing humans in manufacturing jobs in the next twenty years. Even if all my links are "fake news" and trump opens 50 new coal mines robots will be working them. But hey maybe you can get a job on one of those soi bean farms he s paying 12 billions dollars of government bailout money to as a direct result of the earlier mentioned tariffs.
>He has most definetly helped manuafacturing and mining. If you say otherwise you are blind.
He's done a real heckuva job shaving a percentage point off that unemployment rate.
>You can't be so stupid as to think machines won't be replacing humans in manufacturing jobs in the next twenty years
Duh this doesn't address automation. Tariffing foreign goods addresses outsourcing of jobs. Most if not all jobs will be automated in a few decades, but that's not what we were talking about
You were saying what hes done has been ineffective, I would say no.
Also, I have family in coal mining, their pay has actually gone up, as has their mine's production, since Trump entered office, and said company has been opening new mines.
That said, natural gas still significantly hurts coal, and theres not much that can be done about that.
>But maybe you can work in the onions field
oh, you mean what I had as an option before Trump took office? Steel mill where Im from was not hiring then most of the time, and anytime they did make job postings prior work experience requirements were incredibly high.
>muh farmers
Like you give a shit about them. You know how much urbanization impacts farmers? They are forced to leave areas because thanks to imminent domain their property is taken and they are given a low return on what their property is worth. Ive witnessed it happen in my community and its not a pretty picture.
And obviously tariffs suck short term, but having tariffs at close to 0 does not help when other nations practice protectionism. Free trade is a meme until everyone does it
Watching American coastal proles shit on their rural prole fellows is endlessly amusing, especially when they have the utter lack of awareness to simultaneously say things like 'the elite convince poor rural whites to hate poor blacks so they don't feel so inferior to them'.
>12 billions dollars of government bailout money to as a direct result of the earlier mentioned tariffs.
Before the tariff happened China had already locked down the bulk of their onions from Brazil who had a bumper crop. China clears out Brazil before they even consider the US crop, Brazils onions is cheaper even with our subsidies, and 6 months earlier, the US crop just makes up the difference between what China needs and what Brazil can provide. Brazil is going to push the US out of that market within a decade or so.
The onions tariff was pure pol and had no effect real effect on the trade. No idea about the other tariffs.
4% unemployment is the target rate. Banks (the fed) won't let it go lower because they'll make less money. If you want to get rid of the Fed, that's not Trump's fault.
>heheh fucking no job losers
>has to work 2+ jobs to afford a broom closet
Coasties are something else
fucking filters. S O Y! not onions.
First of all 90% of the jobs that have been created went to illegal immigrants.
Second as soon the next Russian spy defects to the west you are all going to lose your fucking minds over what comes out.
keywords: Deutsch Bank, Hooker Piss
>I would say no.
>Also, I have family in coal mining, their pay has actually gone up, as has their mine's production, since Trump entered office, and said company has been opening new mines.
>That said, natural gas still significantly hurts coal, and theres not much that can be done about that.
Oh well if you say no I guess... I mean what could economists know compared to a guy who has family who spend 80% of their time underground.
I'm not even going to bother with the rest of your post. Can I assume you're familiar with the phrase peak coal? You realize even if you and your cousin get $50,000 a year this year, long term the industry isn't sustainable and does immense harm to the planet. Maybe you and your family should be trained for jobs that will last for a lot longer than 10 more years and help the planet and still pay you enough to eat.
but I'm probably wasting my time.
>free trade is a meme
oh I see you have your econ degree, well your career is very versatile then. I won't worry about you.
Anyone reading your comment can tell that not only do you not care about him, you relish the idea that he and his family are in pain
do you have a single source on that one?
I mean wont green tech run into this problem? There isnt much more to do after the installation. Doesnt really seem like a good long term job outside initial boom
glad to know such compassionate, level-headed people are running our government! thank you for your selfless service!
He just told me he and his family are doing better than ever now that trump i shitting on the spics. Now he's in pain. which one is it? and why should I care about him? why are you being such a snowflake?
You don't have to care about anyone, just admit youre a sadistic asshole
>You realize even if you and your cousin get $50,000 a year
>he thinks miners only make 50 grand a year
lol.
>Coal hurts muh planet
And you still use your electronics and drive a car, or take a bus/cab/uber, those arent good for the Earth, neither are cow farts but people like beef.
>maybe your family should be trained
What do you train a 40 year old laid off steel worker for user? Walmart greeter? Tech companies arent moving to the midwest, and going to college for a stem degree and competeing against 20 something year olds doesnt work. What is your solution? I would genuinely like to hear it because thus far no one seems to have answered this question beyond UBE and/or banning automation neither of which I think are realistic solutions
And Id be fine with free trade if other nations practiced it. It leads to lower cost goods for the consumer. But other countries dont, which means countries can move jobs to foriegn countries with looser labor laws, pay workers less, then ship products here and not face a penalty for their actions.
>your economics degree
No, I had to get an engineering degree because manufacturing was dead. Still it doesn't take a degree to be able to understand that companies will do what is in their own financial interest
The technology is changing so fast I'm sure it will always need people who understand how to update it and install next years model.
but even if I'm wrong it won't contribute to the global warming. And I never said he should learn solar panel installation, merely something sustainable.
Than what are some sustainable options for midwesterners? Genuinely curious
short term a massive infrastructure rehaul including a high speed renewable energy train between major cities Minneapolis, Chicago, St Louis, KC, Milwaukee etc
long term fixing the agricultural model so it's not all about corn and soibeans and actually building sustainable low carbon imprint farms to feed urban centers.
it would take a lot of money and a lot of labor but it would be worth it in the long run.
Suicide
ok I apologize for hurting you. Please forgive me.
lol.
>Coal hurts muh planet
>And you still use your electronics and drive a car, or take a bus/cab/uber, those arent good for the Earth, neither are cow farts but people like beef.
whoa you're like blowing my mind dude. I think trump is right, global warming is a chinese conspiracy. Thanks for showing me the light.
Are you 40 years old for real?
>Maybe Trump was right and global warming is a conspiracy
Never said that it wasn't real
>Are you 40 years old for real?
No Im in my 20s. However there are many middle aged laid off manufacturing workers who are forced to work in retail and such where Im from, which is who Im alluding to
As I said, I went to school and got an engineering degree because manufacturing was dead, and now theres a weak pulse.
Automation will kill this of course, along with retail and warehouse jobs.
Your idea of infrastructure work is something most are for, yet congress and Trump cant seem to agree on an infrastructure bill, which is something that irritates me. Theres no reason not to invest in new forms of transportation, as well as fix what we currently have
I am curious, what would you have farmers grow in place of onions beans and corn for a low carbon foot print agricultural industry?
Not off hand, just find a chart of China's soi imports by country, it should not be hard to find, the USDA released a big thing on it back in early 2018 when the effects of the Brazilian bumper crop were being realized, advised farmers to plant things other than soi if possible and announced they were searching for new buyers for the US crop. It happens every couple years, Brazil's crop is sold at market rate, we can not subsidize the onions enough to get it that cheap without getting the WTO on our ass, we already toe that line.
Transport is all kinds of fucked here desu, they either turn into a huge racket like that cali speed rail did or just fall through since to many people rely on it so nothing gets done.
>I am curious, what would you have farmers grow in place of onions beans and corn for a low carbon foot print agricultural industry?
Well If you have ever lived in the midwest you'll know that that's 90% of what they grow. They do this because it makes the real estate the farms are on more valuable. Most of the land is leased to farmers under contract to only grow corn or soibeans or whatever. This is so the owners can speculate on real estate and make a fortune.
The land needs to be broken up and given to local farmers to repair because growing corn year after year is terrible for the soil. I think local sustainable farms are the only thing that's viable in the long run. I agree with you that globalization is bad for food. Just because one can buy oranges in South Dakota in january doesn't mean one should.
Congressmen from the midwest are beholden to the landlords who own the land the farms are on and so are dependent on the status quo. So they have no desire to change this. I doubt trump grasps the situation or if he does that he cares. I wouldn't expect a deal if I were you.
>I am curious, what would you have farmers grow in place of onions beans and corn for a low carbon foot print agricultural industry?
Almost anything will be better, neither are that good on the soil, corn is especially tough and the subsidies promote mono culture and heavy fertilizer use, crop rotation and resting the fields is being neglected for the easy money and assured sale. But soi as a export crop is near dead and the gov is not going to let all those farmers hop on the corn subsidy so they are getting dumped back on the US domestic market, the transition started awhile back and you can see it's effect in your grocery store most likely.
>Well If you have ever lived in the midwest you'll know that that's 90% of what they grow. They do this because it makes the real estate the farms are on more valuable. Most of the land is leased to farmers under contract to only grow corn or soibeans or whatever. This is so the owners can speculate on real estate and make a fortune.
This is a problem. I am from the Midwest. My parents themselves own a few acres. My parents have a farmer on contract
He grows
>corn
>Soi
>winter wheat
And yeah, growing these crops over and over, without letting the ground sit, or growing cover crops, kills the soil. My parents themselves arent reaping insane profits, but some of the larger landowners in the area do.
>congressman are beholden
Yeah, unfortunatley. And its not just to land owners, its to corporations too. Heck, some of the politicians are the landowners themselves.
My ag teacher in highschool said that the family farm was pretty much dead and hes right. Factory farms are much much more common now sadly.
>Most of the land is leased to farmers
That is not quite right, there are a great deal of smaller farms that lease out their land as well, but it really depends where in the midwest you are.
I'm similar to OP but from southern Appalachia. Does anyone have anything on Appalachian history that's at least mostly unbiased? Everything I find seems to swing to both extremes, but I just want the facts as they happened not speculation and heavy interpretation.
Richard Brautigan
based..
So easy to troll the r*ral and s*burban retards on lit these days....
hillbilly elegy
Get a stall at your local farmer's market. If you have no marketable skills, learn book binding, it will take about half a month max to learn how to do it, cost barely anything, and you can print all your favorite works of literature for free once the copyright expires. Sell these for $15-30 a piece, and you'll at least support your hobby.
Get some bee hives. You'll have a lifetime of honey so a $200 initial investment. Grow some Irises around them and your yard will always smell nice.
Get involved with your local high school and run a chess club, or a math club, or a literature club. Give back to the community by creating opportunities you wish you had as a child.
Among your friends, form a secret society. Go through bi-monthly weapon/guerilla training. Buy some copies of the TM 31-210 and FM 5-31. Study them. Practice regularly and stockpile.
Cheese making is a fun and easy hobby, you can make a weeks supply of mozzarella in a couple of hours.
Rural America needs people fighting for it. Not crying about it's death.
Great book but I think Knockemstiff would be even more fitting
This is largely idealism and not practical, just post apocalyptic larping. I mean sure, sounds nice but you are not helping rural America by spending a few hours making your weeks supply of cheese or being a member of a secret society, and you are very unlikely to keep a bee colony alive for your entire life.
Also, that is not mozzarella.
The Amish will inherit the white America.
>corporations destroy rural America
>rural Americans get tricked into voting for president who actively cedes more power to corporations and then deflect blame when things don't go as hoped for
Like clockwork.