The huge mountain of manure that represents Mexico levied tariffs affecting eighty-nine crops and products here in the United States just keeps growing bigger and smellier. At the top of this mountain are the bureaucrats and politicians, at the bottom, American farmers and ranchers. This pile of manure has been a long time in the making, and like the proverbial mole hill has grown to such mammoth proportions it can no longer be ignored by Congress and the present administration. Tariffs that border on the ridiculous are nothing new. They have long been used by governments to pressure, punish and manipulate other governments under the guise of propping up their own failing industries; often having the same result as "cutting one's nose off to spite one's face". That being said, in defense, Mexico's actions are a direct result of the present administration doing their best imitation of an ostrich. By sticking their heads in the sand and ignoring the warning signals the Obama administration has put American farmers and ranchers' heads on the chopping block, all in the hopes of saving their own heads at election time.
