American Gothic: Iowa in 2020

The Des Moines Register— the paper that Americans read in presidential primaries—headlines this story: Republicans, without notice or discussion, sneaked a 68-page bill that guts public sector unions on to the legislative floor. This happened the same day that Sen. Leader Mitch McConnell disciplined Sen. Elizabeth Warren for “impugning” a fellow senator by reading a critical letter from Coretta Scott King.

Iowa is also a major story in a Wall Street Journal special report, titled “The Next American Farm Bust Is Upon Us.” Here’s a surprising except: “Russia, meanwhile, has swung over the past quarter-century from the world’s largest wheat importer to the biggest exporter, said Dan Basse, president of Chicago-based research firm AgResource Co. Farmers there planted even more wheat last year to take advantage of the U.S. dollar’s recent climb against many currencies. That encourages Russian farmers to export as much wheat as possible for dollars, which convert to about twice the number of rubles they did three years ago.”https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-next-american-farm-bust-is-upon-us-1486572488 

It’s likely to get worse, assuming that Tea Party Republicans have their say on the federal budget. Bloomberg’s Aug. 16, 2016 article, “Farmer Get Biggest Subsidy Check as Prices Drop,” (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-11/farmers-get-biggest-u-s-subsidy-check-in-decade-as-prices-drop) published this chart:

What does this chart say? In 2016, U.S. farmers had 26% of their income from federal price support programs. If these farmers lived in “Shee-cago,” that would be called welfare.

That was before President Trump announced a 20% tariff on Mexican products—a move that will likely result in harmful counter-tariffs aimed at U.S. exports. And, it was before Trump cancelled U.S. participation in TPP.

Iowa exported exported $13.2 billion in goods in 2015, with about 12 percent coming from farms. http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/business/2017/01/26/iowa-uneasy-over-trumps-proposed-imports-tax-mexico/97082370/

There is more. Today, the president is urging county sheriffs to help federal immigration officers round-up illegal aliens. Where will these people be detained in Iowa? Not a federal facility-- no, in Iowa county jails. Who will pay for the upkeep? Iowans. 

Under normal circumstances, it takes months to process detainees for deportation hearings. It’s anyone’s guess how long the process will be delayed if the system is swamped (it’s already above capacity because of too few federal immigration judges); but there is a bill in Iowa to prohibit counties from detaining illegal aliens. The rationale is partly sympathy for immigrants, and partly a pragmatic consideration of cost—as well as law enforcement priorities.

America might be great again, but Iowa is looking like it’s heading for the poor house—not just it’s government units, but its citizens. Just as Iowa led the way for the Trump revolt, it might lead a different way in the future.