Hour 1: Land Rich, Cash Poor: My Family's Hope and the Untold History of the Disappearing American Farmer
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About our Guest: Brian Reisinger
Brian Reisinger, author of Land Rich, Cash Poor: My Family's Hope and the Untold History of the Disappearing American Farmer, grew up on a family farm in Sauk County, Wisconsin and lives to tell the hidden stories of rural America. A columnist and consultant, Reisinger worked with his father from the time he could walk, before entering the worlds of business journalism and public policy. He has been published by USA Today, Newsweek, Yahoo News, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/USA Today Network, PBS/Wisconsin Public Radio’s “Wisconsin Life,” The Daily Yonder, RealClearPolitics, The Hill, The Wisconsin State Journal, The Cap Times, Saving Country Music, and many other news, policy, outdoor, and cultural publications. Reisinger’s writing has won awards from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, first place in the Seven Hills Literary Contest, a Solas Award, and more. He lives with his wife and daughter and serves as President & Chief Content Officer of Midwestern-based Platform Communications, splitting time between a small town in northern California and the family farm in southern Wisconsin. Land Rich, Cash Poor is his first book. |
"An anthem to the family farm in America." —The Associated Press
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Taking on this working-class story of heart and hardship, award-winning writer Brian Reisinger weaves forgotten eras of American history with his own family’s four-generation fight for survival in Midwestern farm country. Readers learn the truth about America’s most detrimental and unexplained socioeconomic crisis: How the family farms that feed us went from cutting a middle-class path through the Great Depression to barely making ends meet in modern America. Along the way, they’ll see what it truly takes to feed our country: accidents that can kill or maim; weather that blesses or threatens; resilience in the face of crushing economic crises, from depressions and recessions to COVID-19; and the tradition that presses down on each generation when you're not just fighting for your job, you're fighting for your heritage.
With newly analyzed data, sharp historical analysis, conversations with some of modern farming’s most notable champions and critics alike, honest debate, and personal storytelling, Reisinger reveals how the hollowing out of rural America is affecting every single American dinner table. Food prices soaring far beyond the rate of inflation, a vulnerable food supply chain, environmental and ecological dilemmas, the security of our farmland from foreign adversaries, a mental health crisis that includes farmer suicides and addictions, a deepening urban-rural divide, and more worries than ever about what’s for dinner. These are all becoming the hallmarks of a food system that has long stood as a modern miracle. Land Rich, Cash Poor offers the honest truth about these issues, and a candid look at what we can do about them—before it’s too late. |
“A Big Difference”: Trump Administration’s Tomato Tariffs Already a Game Changer for American Farmers
Trump says he will set tariffs for 150 small countries in one swoop
PUBLIUS SPECIAL GUEST: Brian Reisinger, author of Land Rich, Cash Poor: My Family's Hope and the Untold History of the Disappearing American Farmer. The hidden history of an economic and cultural crisis that is threatening our very food supply—the disappearance of the American farmer.
In a decisive move to protect American agriculture and restore fairness, the Trump Administration’s tariffs on fresh Mexican tomato imports are already boosting American farmers, growers, and business owners.
Here’s what they’re saying:
TO BOOK INTERVIEWS EMAIL: [email protected]
Trump says he will set tariffs for 150 small countries in one swoop
PUBLIUS SPECIAL GUEST: Brian Reisinger, author of Land Rich, Cash Poor: My Family's Hope and the Untold History of the Disappearing American Farmer. The hidden history of an economic and cultural crisis that is threatening our very food supply—the disappearance of the American farmer.
In a decisive move to protect American agriculture and restore fairness, the Trump Administration’s tariffs on fresh Mexican tomato imports are already boosting American farmers, growers, and business owners.
Here’s what they’re saying:
- Chad Smith, Smith Tomato Farm (Steele, AL): “It’s only been two days now, and we actually have a lot more calls of people having interest in doing business — and the price hasn’t even changed.”
- Matt Rudd, Rudd Family Farm (Browns Summit, NC): “What you see in the grocery store now, instead of all those tomatoes from Mexico and everywhere else, it should be more local and United States-grown — where we can compete with those prices.”
- Rich Troccio, Bloomfield Groceria (Pittsburgh, PA): “It will not bother me if he put a 50% tariff on Mexico. It wouldn’t bother me because I don’t buy from there. It’s just the way I am. As long as it’s something grown here, this is where I want to buy my product.”
- Sam Newell, Fruit Fair (Chicopee, MA): “It’s a win-win for the community and us. Having tariffs on imported goods gives us a more level playing field.”
- Mark Reuben, Gilcrease Orchard (Las Vegas, NV): “We won’t raise our price, so it will stay $1.50/pound, which is what we charge.”
- Logan Duvall, Me and McGee Market (Little Rock, AR): “I can’t see how the tariffs are going to be negative on us at all. Being as tomatoes are a massive part of what we do, and we see the impact when that money goes directly to our farmers in our community versus a multinational conglomerate — it’s a big difference.”
- Steve Longmire, Tennessee Homegrown Tomatoes (Rutledge, TN): “In the fall and wintertime, we have to count on — and, you know, the nation does — tomatoes in the warmer climates, so that’s where it’s going to be a good thing for the farmer. Hopefully more of their tomatoes are going to sell at a little bit better price because of the tariff on the imports.”
- Patty Morgan, Grainger County (TN) Tomato Festival: “It’s a huge industry in our county.”
TO BOOK INTERVIEWS EMAIL: [email protected]
Hour 2: The Outlook for American Economic Growth
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About our guest: Phil Kerpen
Phil Kerpen, a leading free-market policy analyst and advocate in Washington DC. He was the principal policy and legislative strategist at Americans for Prosperity for over five years. He previously worked at the Free Enterprise Fund, the Club for Growth, and the Cato Institute. Kerpen is also a nationally syndicated columnist, chairman of the Internet Freedom Coalition, and author of the 2011 book Democracy Denied. Phil Kerpen is the president of American Commitment, dedicated to restoring and protecting the American Commitment to free markets, economic growth, Constitutionally-limited government, property rights, and individual freedom. They engage in critical public policy fights over the size and intrusiveness of government through direct advocacy, strategic policy analysis, and grassroots mobilization. Working with key partners, American Commitment delivers timely, effective public policy research to the broader free-market movement. We are dedicated to restoring and protecting the American Commitment to free markets, economic growth, Constitutionally-limited government, property rights, and individual freedom. https://www.americancommitment.org/ |
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- MAR 9, 2025 HOUR 2: CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU - PHIL KERPEN
- JUN 2, 2024 HOUR 1: STOP BIDEN'S ILLEGAL ATTACK ON GAS-POWERED CARS
- JAN 28, 2024 HOUR 2: BAD WI-FI IS NOT A REASON TO REGULATE THE INTERNET
- JUL 9, 2023 HOUR 2: SENIOR HEALTHCARE CONCERNS AND THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT
- APR 2, 2023 HOUR 1: DEBT AND SPENDING REFORM
- SEP 18, 2022 HOUR 2: DEMOCRATS WANT TO RAID MEDICARE TO PAY FOR OBAMACARE
- JUL 19, 2020 HOUR 2: TESTIMONY TO THE HOUSE SELECT SUBCOMMITTEE ON CORONAVIRUS
Up for discussion today:
With the passage of the “Big Beautiful Bill,” the Trump tax cuts of 2017 have been extended, while eliminating taxes on tips and overtime. But America’s budget deficits and national debt remain a vexing problem. Unemployment and inflation numbers remain steady while the Fed is still poised to continue cutting interest rates. What is the outlook for American economic growth? What impact will the Trump tariffs have on the economy? What about energy prices and regulation?
Today we will take a look at the state of America’s economy and what policies should be enacted to achieve prosperity for our nation.
With the passage of the “Big Beautiful Bill,” the Trump tax cuts of 2017 have been extended, while eliminating taxes on tips and overtime. But America’s budget deficits and national debt remain a vexing problem. Unemployment and inflation numbers remain steady while the Fed is still poised to continue cutting interest rates. What is the outlook for American economic growth? What impact will the Trump tariffs have on the economy? What about energy prices and regulation?
Today we will take a look at the state of America’s economy and what policies should be enacted to achieve prosperity for our nation.