When Promises Replace Action, Harm Follows: Why Veteran Families and American Family Farms Are Being Left to Fail

keepourvetshoused
Jan 6
4 min read

Two groups that form the backbone of this nation are being quietly pushed toward collapse:veteran families and American family farmers.

Veterans were promised stability after service. Farmers were promised support for feeding the nation.

Today, both are being handed paperwork, delays, and empty assurances—while homes and land are lost in real time.

This is not coincidence. It is systemic failure.

And when leaders continue to promise help they do not deliver, the harm caused is no longer accidental.Promises without action become violence.

Veteran Families: Higher Homeownership, Rising Foreclosure Risk

Veterans historically achieve higher rates of homeownership than the general population due to the VA Home Loan program. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, approximately 78–79% of veterans own homes, compared to roughly 65% of the overall U.S. population (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2024; U.S. Census Bureau, 2023).

There are currently more than 3.5 million active VA-guaranteed home loans nationwide, representing one of the largest federal housing benefit programs in the country (Department of Veterans Affairs, Loan Guaranty Service).

Yet this population is now experiencing disproportionate mortgage distress.

Hard Data: Delinquency and Foreclosure

According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA):

As of early 2025, the serious delinquency rate (90+ days past due or in foreclosure) for VA loans was approximately 2.3%, compared to about 1.6% for the overall mortgage market (FHFA, Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance Report, Q1 2025).
The VA loan foreclosure rate rose to approximately 0.84%, the highest level since 2019 (National Mortgage News, 2025).

Industry and policy analyses estimate:

60,000–90,000 veteran households are currently seriously delinquent on VA-backed mortgages.
Over 33,000 veteran homes are already in active foreclosure proceedings (MarketWatch, 2024; National Mortgage News, 2025).

This surge followed the termination of the VA Servicing Purchase (VASP) program, which allowed the VA to purchase and modify distressed loans to prevent foreclosure. The program ended in 2025 without a fully operational replacement (Urban Institute, 2024; National Mortgage News, 2025).

Veterans were told help was coming.Then the protection disappeared.

American Family Farms: Nearly All Farms—Yet Barely Surviving

At the same time veteran families face housing loss, American family farms are disappearing at an alarming rate.

According to the USDA 2022 Census of Agriculture:

95% of all U.S. farms are family-owned (USDA NASS, 2022 Census).
Between 2017 and 2022, the U.S. lost approximately 159,000 farms, an 8% decline in five years (USDA NASS, 2022).

Even more telling:

Small farms account for 85% of all U.S. farms, yet generate only 14% of total agricultural production value, indicating extreme financial vulnerability (USDA Economic Research Service).
Farmland values increased by over 20% nationwide during the same period, dramatically raising barriers for small, beginning, veteran, and women farmers (USDA ERS, Land Values Summary, 2023).

Debt, Delayed Aid, and Land Loss

The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) reports that tens of thousands of farmers rely on:

Emergency loan restructuring
Disaster assistance
Temporary foreclosure forbearance

just to remain operational (USDA FSA, Annual Report, 2024).

However, multiple Government Accountability Office (GAO) reviews have found that USDA assistance programs are often:

Slow to deploy
Administratively complex
Inaccessible to small and beginning farmers (GAO, USDA Farm Loan Programs, 2023)

Aid frequently arrives after planting seasons are missed, debt has compounded, or land has already been sold.

Farmers are labeled “essential,” but policy continues to favor consolidation by large corporate operations.

The Shared Pattern: Performative Support Instead of Real Protection

Veteran families and family farmers are navigating systems that are designed to appear supportive while failing under real-world conditions.

Both groups hear:

“Apply again.”
“Wait for guidance.”
“Relief is coming.”

But time is the one resource neither foreclosure nor farming allows.

For veterans, delay means sheriff sale dates.For farmers, delay means missed seasons and land auctions.

When policymakers promise help that does not arrive in time, people stop seeking alternatives. They trust the system—and that trust costs them their homes and land.

That is not an oversight.That is harm.

Why Promises Without Action Are Violence

Violence is not always physical.

It can look like:

A press conference without funding
A program announced but never implemented
A promise that delays someone long enough to lose everything

When predictable loss follows political inaction, the damage is structural and systemic.

Homes are lost. Farms disappear. Communities destabilize.

Why This Crisis Affects Everyone

Veteran housing instability increases:

Homelessness rates (HUD, Annual Homeless Assessment Report)
Public healthcare and emergency service costs
Community economic strain

Family farm loss leads to:

Food system consolidation
Rural economic collapse
Reduced national food security (USDA ERS)

These are not niche issues.They are national stability issues.

What Must Change—Now

Permanent, funded foreclosure prevention for veterans, not temporary pilot programs.
Farm support designed for long-term viability, not emergency patches.
Policy built with frontline veterans and farmers, not without them.
Accountability for promises made—measured in homes saved and farms preserved, not applications processed.

Conclusion: Action or Harm—There Is No Neutral Ground

Veterans do not need more gratitude. Farmers do not need more praise.

They need real money, real timelines, and real accountability.

Anything less is not compassion. It is abandonment.

And abandonment—wrapped in promises—is violence.

Sources & Citations

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Loan Guaranty Service
Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance Report, Q1 2025
National Mortgage News, VA Foreclosures Surge Following Policy Changes, 2025
MarketWatch, 60,000 Veterans at Risk of Losing Homes, 2024
Urban Institute, VA Home Loan Program Reform Analysis, 2024
USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), 2022 Census of Agriculture
USDA Economic Research Service (ERS), Farm Structure and Land Values Reports
USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), Annual Reports 2023–2024
Government Accountability Office (GAO), USDA Farm Loan Programs Review, 2023
U.S. Census Bureau, Housing Characteristics, 2023
HUD, Annual Homeless Assessment Report