Rural America finally got help from other parts of the electorate, voting for a president who recognizes the importance of food producers and who won some important beef trade battles in Japan, South Korea and China.
President-elect Donald Trump and Mexico will quickly have to thrash out the border situation. Trump got Mexico’s last president to enforce their border security. Will their new president cooperate? From the huge flow of drugs and people through Mexico, the country and cartels have been doing a booming business. Will that gravy train end?
Trump has selected Lee Zeldin to run the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA is a major trouble source for agriculture, but the voters have realized many other industries have been put through needless regulatory hoops. Those hoops—or destruction of whole industries—have costs that consumers have paid. They’ve noticed. They’ve even realized critical supplies are threatened.
Zeldin will restore the EPA’s original purpose, to protect air and water from obvious threats. Common sense stuff. It was never intended to regulate every aspect of life on Planet Earth, from heat, propulsion and electricity to stoves, washing machines, water heaters and light bulbs.
Trump is not nominating bashful, tentative, go-along-to-get along types. He wants to make major changes to government operations.
As of this writing, a USDA nominee hasn’t been made. We need someone who can protect beef from the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. That adversary has announced they are trying again to banish meat consumption from nutrition recommendations for school lunch, nutrition programs, the military and everyone for a plant-based dietary regimen.
Trade was a major topic of the campaign. Critics painted Trump as a threat to world trade and American consumers. They never understood Trump as a negotiator and businessman. What he will threaten and what will happen are two very different things.
Beef has free-trade agreements with our top two overseas export customers, Japan and South Korea. Canada and Mexico are both suppliers and major customers. Trump will lean on China to live up to their commitments. President Xi Jinping may not want to disrupt supplies of meat and grain to a suffering population.
Trump’s intention is to make America a business-friendly country with lower taxes and regulation in the world’s biggest, richest market. The last time, exporters cut prices, cut margins and importers did the same so as not to lose market share.
Politicians and economists who fear inflation under Trump tariffs are not supply-side economists. Increased supply and lower costs are not inflationary. The Federal Reserve’s theory of conquering inflation through killing demand is slow pain. Increasing the supply of goods through cutting taxes and regulations normalizes markets and unleashes innovation and business investment. A year or so after adjustments, government tax revenue increases. It is Congress’ spending policies that create inflation, putting more money into the marketplace—which it takes from taxpayers and businesses.
Having congressional majorities means the Republicans will select committee chairs, have more members on committees and set the political agenda, working with Trump.
A reconciliation budget bill could cut spending the country can’t afford and hopefully, repurposing and recapturing money.
Trump and the Republicans have an obvious voter mandate, so they will have that political and psychological edge in cajoling reluctant Republicans.
Last time, there were more establishment Republicans who considered Trump an interloper and unworthy of support. This time, they will also feel the heat of Trump’s voter support.
Trump has support from usual sectors but also made serious headway with non-traditional voting blocs, like blue-collar workers, union members, younger male voters and cultural and racial groups. The political opposition will find it harder to play certain groups off against him.
Another key factor: preparation and experience. Trump is picking people he can trust, people with only one face and people determined to serve America.
His guts, his doggedness and obvious love of country should also give him more heft in Washington. He also has the advantage of not facing reelection. That gives him freer rein to do what the country needs. He could engineer a fix to Social Security and Medicare before they require annual transfusions of general revenue to stay alive.
The Fed cut interest rates, but bond traders don’t believe in supply-side economics. Bonds went up after the cuts. There is some educational work there.
Trump’s victory speech said that it was the work of a movement, not something he personally won. He labeled it common sense, setting the table for an American Golden Age. He believes God gave him extra years for the job. — Steve Dittmer, WLJ columnist
(Steve Dittmer is the author of the Agribusiness Freedom Foundation newsletter. Views in the column do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of WLJ or its editorial staff.)
