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I had an epiphany the other night while watching a report on TV about how hard it is for farmers to buy health insurance because of the cost.  Really....they aren't any different than any other self employed person.

 

But...I've thought for a long time about how the Democrats could get more support in rural America (Republican strongholds) for a single player plan.  Then it dawned on me.


What if the government put together a Medicare type plan for farmers?  Theoretically, it's cheaper to get healthcare through Medicare than with normal insurance.  Farmers have never had a problem or complained about the government handouts they get....even though they complain about everyone else's.  

 

So, it would really put Republican farmers in a pickle politically.  Do they opt for getting a program that provides good healthcare to their families?  OR...do they stick to the Republican mantra of revolt against socialism?

 

It would be an interesting thing for Democrats to do.

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35 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

I had an epiphany the other night while watching a report on TV about how hard it is for farmers to buy health insurance because of the cost.  Really....they aren't any different than any other self employed person.

 

But...I've thought for a long time about how the Democrats could get more support in rural America (Republican strongholds) for a single player plan.  Then it dawned on me.


What if the government put together a Medicare type plan for farmers?  Theoretically, it's cheaper to get healthcare through Medicare than with normal insurance.  Farmers have never had a problem or complained about the government handouts they get....even though they complain about everyone else's.  

 

So, it would really put Republican farmers in a pickle politically.  Do they opt for getting a program that provides good healthcare to their families?  OR...do they stick to the Republican mantra of revolt against socialism?

 

It would be an interesting thing for Democrats to do.

But why would the Dems include farmers and exclude so many others? A Medicare-for-All program helps the farmers too.

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22 minutes ago, RedDenver said:

But why would the Dems include farmers and exclude so many others? A Medicare-for-All program helps the farmers too.

 

Because this is the first step.  Rural America is probably the main group that is stonewalling a single payer plan because of the Republican influence as it being SOCIALISM.

 

Well...Farmers are both Republican and a large part of rural America.  Get them in the program and liking it......and boom....everyone else in Rural America wants it too.  Farmers aren't going to complain about it because....hey...it's a handout to them because their special and "the back bone of America".

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14 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

 

Because this is the first step.  Rural America is probably the main group that is stonewalling a single payer plan because of the Republican influence as it being SOCIALISM.

 

Well...Farmers are both Republican and a large part of rural America.  Get them in the program and liking it......and boom....everyone else in Rural America wants it too.  Farmers aren't going to complain about it because....hey...it's a handout to them because their special and "the back bone of America".

I see what you're saying from a political selling-point perspective (and I think you're also being somewhat sarcastic), but this just strikes me as a way to get votes but then the farmers turn their backs on those "welfare queens" in the cities. Plus it's giving the middle finger to everyone else. Lots of ways for this to go wrong.

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5 minutes ago, RedDenver said:

I see what you're saying from a political selling-point perspective (and I think you're also being somewhat sarcastic), but this just strikes me as a way to get votes but then the farmers turn their backs on those "welfare queens" in the cities. Plus it's giving the middle finger to everyone else. Lots of ways for this to go wrong.

 

I am, somewhat, being sarcastic.  I'm playing with the fact that farmers love their government handouts....but, don't want anyone else to because they think their special.  


But.....it would be an interesting tactic for the Democrats to do to get a foothold into the Republican base for a single payer plan.

 

I would love to see everyone's reaction to the proposal.

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22 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

 

I am, somewhat, being sarcastic.  I'm playing with the fact that farmers love their government handouts....but, don't want anyone else to because they think their special.  


But.....it would be an interesting tactic for the Democrats to do to get a foothold into the Republican base for a single payer plan.

 

I would love to see everyone's reaction to the proposal.

On a slightly different topic: it'll be interesting to see what happens if the government shutdown going into February causes farmers not to get their government checks, especially since these checks will include the tariff boost in payouts. How many will break with Trump and/or the GOP? Or will they somehow allow themselves to believe its the Dems fault?

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I'll agree that farmers are one key constituency Dems need to do better with if they want to return to power. The Ag industry was one of the first ones FDR strode to help when he began his first term as they were in systematic crisis as he took over not limited to the Great Depression. They had a serious overproduction problem and demand dried up quickly as the world economy soured. 

 

The Midwest is slowly souring on Trump in a lot of places. It would be difficult to have screwed over farmers more completely than Trump has with his trade war. I feel like Dems have an opening here - can they take advantage of it, though?


Securing good healthcare for farmers (and everyone else, as well) would go a long way.

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11 hours ago, Clifford Franklin said:

I'll agree that farmers are one key constituency Dems need to do better with if they want to return to power. The Ag industry was one of the first ones FDR strode to help when he began his first term as they were in systematic crisis as he took over not limited to the Great Depression. They had a serious overproduction problem and demand dried up quickly as the world economy soured. 

 

The Midwest is slowly souring on Trump in a lot of places. It would be difficult to have screwed over farmers more completely than Trump has with his trade war. I feel like Dems have an opening here - can they take advantage of it, though?


Securing good healthcare for farmers (and everyone else, as well) would go a long way.

 

Democrats have never really been strong in being able to take advantage of things that the Republicans screw up. Farmers have been voting against their best interests for years, but the Dems have not been able to expose this.

 

 

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25 minutes ago, Ulty said:

Farmers have been voting against their best interests for years, but the Dems have not been able to expose this.

 

I wouldn't necessarily say that.  They have voted for the party that shows they're interested in them.  Democrats have concentrated on the coasts and metropolitan areas.  Very few of their progressive ideas ring the bell in rural America.  That is why they have lost this demographic.

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12 hours ago, Clifford Franklin said:

I'll agree that farmers are one key constituency Dems need to do better with if they want to return to power. The Ag industry was one of the first ones FDR strode to help when he began his first term as they were in systematic crisis as he took over not limited to the Great Depression. They had a serious overproduction problem and demand dried up quickly as the world economy soured. 

 

The Midwest is slowly souring on Trump in a lot of places. It would be difficult to have screwed over farmers more completely than Trump has with his trade war. I feel like Dems have an opening here - can they take advantage of it, though?

 

I agree with this.  With this trade war, we are getting right back into over production and no markets for that production.  If these trade wars go into the middle of next summer, I can't imagine how far these commodity prices are going to go down.  Chances are, we would still have a huge inventory of commodities on the ground and harvest coming soon for another crop.

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3 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

 

I wouldn't necessarily say that.  They have voted for the party that shows they're interested in them.  Democrats have concentrated on the coasts and metropolitan areas.  Very few of their progressive ideas ring the bell in rural America.  That is why they have lost this demographic.

 

Yeah, that's kind of the point. Democrats have ignored opportunities to make gains with farmers and rural voters. There is so much more they could have been doing to get their foot in the door. Republicans have always shown farmers the love, at least in lip service.

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