News media report that the US Dept. of Agriculture just announced up to $12 billion in emergency relief for farmers caught in the escalating trade war. The figure is several magnitudes larger than that allocated for workers suffering from globalization under Trade Adjustment Assistance.  See below last year’s allocation for the program, which was shy of $1 billion:

I suppose there could be a number of reasons for it, including the vastly greater resources available to the Department of Labor, as compared to the Department of Agriculture.  Though it’s hard to ignore the politics.

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