And you think that's ok? Apparently, those who are dealt a decent hand don't give a damn about that 14%. Have you ever been homeless and lived in the streets? There are people with jobs but have to live in their cars because hey can't afford the rent to live in places close enough to their place of work. To my mind, farmers who have to work hard just to keep their farms from going under have not been dealt a decent hand. Living from hand to mouth is not a decent way of life. The country is deep in debt with $45 trillion in unfunded liabilities (Social Security, Medicare). Is that your idea of a decent hand?
Once again, you seem to be good at talking about others. It really appears, with what you have been posting, that you really like wallowing in that pity pot you seem to be in. Maybe I'm wrong, just an observation.
I might also be wrong in this but speaking only from my experiences, I'm really not aware of any farmer that feels he/she has not been dealt a decent hand - as you put it. If they did/do they usually get out of the business and years later wish they didn't. I believe that most of us feel we really live a blessed life!
I have many friends that are also farmers, both here and all around the US, from hobby sized to larger family owned and operated. I personally have not heard any of them say - seriously - that they wished they never got involved in farming, that the whole world is out to get them, that they were dealt a crappy hand or that they really want to quit & sell everything. Sure they/we might say something like that when we get bit, banged up etc, but typically we don't "really" mean it.
For me, money doesn't mean that much. Back in the '70s when I was a physician in the military I made an obscene amount of money and really disliked my life - always keeping up with the Jones'. BTW, before you ask, all that money & possessions went away during a very nasty divorce - Not a bad hand but a blessing in disguise (without the divorce, I would have never met my current wife)!
Currently my wife & I are pretty self sufficient, we have a paltry sum we get each month from my retirement - hint, it isn't enough by itself to have to file taxes. Yes, we do file taxes each year because we have a business. We raise what we eat and eat what we raise with few exceptions - staples e.g., flour, cornmeal etc and still have enough stock left over to send to auction houses (yes, we keep breeder stock) and enough garden stuff to sell at the local farmers market in spring through fall. We don't have or need the latest or greatest cellphones (no cell coverage at the house). The co-op just installed internet out here so we were able to ditch the satellite internet and are now able to stream some programs we like (we only subscribe to discovery+, no Netflix, HBO, etc, etc., don't need or want them). I think we average about 2-3 hours with our small tv on a day. I guess you'd probably classify this kind of life as being dealt a bad hand. We don't think so, we really feel blessed for every day we are alive!
