Reagan quote

[TheFarseer]

Sorry if people are sick of Reagan but I was talking to my dad for the first time since Reagan died and he said something not so flattering about him, and since he's a big republican, Nebraska farmer, strong pro-life guy, I asked him "what, you don't like the gipper?" The reply was, "I hate that arrogant prick. He made the comment once 'We should export the farmers and keep the grain'" That takes alot of balls to tear down the people who supported you and totally sell them out. Alot of farmers went broke in the '80s and it's no stretch at all to blame Ronnie.

[whistle]

1. I think Reagan said that about a lot of American industries...

...It's too bad that there are no oval office tapes from the Reagan era. It would be very enlightening to have had Reagan's private conversations and statements as a matter of record.

[shraby]

2. Your Dad was right

there were a lot of farms lost in the '80s. I spect large agri-business bought them up.

[TexasProgresive]

4. Early in the Reagan admin

A friend of mine who is a cotton farmer went to a USDA meeting with some wheel from the AG department. The fed said that there were about 2.25 million farmers in the US and the Reagan admnistration wanted to pare that down to 1.5 million. And they did. Remember all the heartbreaking farm sales?

[TheFarseer]

5. I was living right in the middle of it

Way too many of our friends were holding farm sales and next thing you know, they're working at the gas station or the grain elevator for not even $20k a year. Alot like Detroit in the 80s I would imagine. All part of the trend of losing good jobs and gaining crap jobs and it's exactly what they want - the quote says it all.

[ecoalex]

3. Farming in the 80's

Farming in the 80's was depressing, the policies then were new, now we see the effects, with ghost towns in the upper midwest, and soverignty traded away , along with whole industries. Reagan's farm policy was hostile to family farmers, yet in ag areas as usual, they vote republican, and hope next year is better.