Krugman in NYT reveals how Trump's policies hurt rural folks (with a focus on farms/ag)

Paul Krugman today published a column in the New York Times, titled "Trump is Terrible for Rural America." To a great extent, Krugman conflates rurality with agriculture, as with his focus on tax "reform" and tariffs:

The Trump tax cut largely passes farmers by, because they aren’t corporations and few of them are rich. One of the studies by Agriculture Department economists that raised Trumpian ire showed that to the extent that farmers saw tax reductions, most of the benefits went to the richest 10 percent, while poor farmers actually saw a slight tax increase.

Krugman notes that nearly half of U.S. produced soybeans and wheat are exported, and Trump's expanded trade war has sent grain markets sharply lower.

The other big theme of the editorial is the differential impact of cuts to the safety net, noting that rural America relies disproportionately on the safety net:

 Of the 100 counties with the highest percentage of their population receiving food stamps, 85 are rural, and most of the rest are in small metropolitan areas. 

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Medicaid is also a key factor keeping rural hospitals alive; without it, access to health care would be severely curtailed for rural Americans in general.

Lastly, Krugman takes up the question, "What's a Trumpist to do?"  There he talks about rural folks' perception that coastal elites condescend to them, a topic I wrote about here.  Have a read for yourself. 

P.S. A postscript on agriculture and trade is here.