I hold the belief that American land should be prioritized for Americans. I hold the belieef that every American should grow up with the comfort that if they work hard – they will be able to own a home, build generational wealth, and not be priced out of the housing market by foreign investors. Our farmland ought to be managed and owned by Americans – not foreign entities who abuse our water, steal our technology, and interfere with prospects for the next generation of American farmers.
Chinese investors went from owning 192,000 acres of farmland in the US in 2000 to over 35 million acres in 2019. The problem is getting worse with each and every year that our officials do nothing about the problem and allow foreigners to completely price Americans out of the market. Saudi farmers, who get a special deal on water in Arizona ($25 an acre!) and can pump over 100,000 gallons of water per day for essentially no benefit to Arizonans or Americans, should be immediately halted in their actions. No foreign government should be allowed to pump our water for their horses and elites while Arizonans are facing down a drought that has decimated Lake Mead and our other reservoirs.
Foreign companies like Tricon Residential have purchased over 30% of some Arizona communities such as Tolleson. This causes a drastic decrease in generational wealth as families’ greatest expense – rent- goes directly to the coffers of foreign companies. Put quite simply, foreign companies should not be allowed to own American single family real estate. If we care about being “America First” – then we must put forth genuine populist and common sense economic reform that puts Americans first.
In general, I agree with the solutions offered by Senator Chuck Grassley and would seek to prioritize this issue at the federal level. It is time to stop the exploitation of regular Americans by a corrupt bureaucratic elite and foreign entities. YOU deserve to own a home.
