24 Facts About Jim Hightower

James Allen Hightower was born on January 11,1943 and is an American syndicated columnist, progressive political activist, and author.

Jim Hightower publishes a monthly newsletter that is notable for its in-depth investigative reporting, The Hightower Lowdown.

Jim Hightower worked his way through college as assistant general manager of the Denton Chamber of Commerce and later landed a spot as a management trainee for the US State Department.

Jim Hightower received a Bachelor of Arts in government from the University of North Texas in Denton, where he served as student body president.

Jim Hightower later did graduate work at Columbia University in New York City in international affairs.

In 1970, Jim Hightower co-founded and worked at the Agribusiness Accountability Project in Washington, DC, which resulted in two of his early books.

Jim Hightower's first attempt at public office was an unsuccessful bid for the Democratic nomination for the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the oil and natural gas industries, rather than the railroads the name of the commission would seem to indicate.

In 1982, Hightower was elected Agriculture Commissioner, having unseated fellow Democrat Reagan V Brown, who had ordered a quarantine of fruit coming into Texas from California.

Jim Hightower served as agriculture commissioner until he was unseated in 1990 by the Democrat-turned-Republican Rick Perry, later the governor of Texas.

Jim Hightower's tenure was noted for fostering organic production, alternative crops, direct marketing by small farmers, and strong gross materials regulations.

Jim Hightower criticized Clinton for having accepted corporate soft money contributions, his support of NAFTA, his health care plan, and his refusal to crack down on "corporate welfare", as well as what Hightower viewed as inadequate efforts at fighting unemployment and poverty.

Jim Hightower appeared at Nader's "super-rallies" and stumped across the country for him.

Since 1993, Jim Hightower has produced Jim Hightower Radio, a daily two-minute commentary carried by over 130 affiliates.

Jim Hightower hosted a weekend talk show on the American Broadcasting Company radio network and a weekday midday talk show on the United Broadcasting Network.

In recent years, Jim Hightower has advocated for industrial hemp as a sustainable agricultural crop.

Jim Hightower endorsed Bernie Sanders for president in 2016, actively campaigning for the Democratic candidate.

In summer 2016, after Hillary Clinton won the party's nomination, Sanders supporters formed the progressive group Our Revolution, and Jim Hightower joined the board of directors.

Jim Hightower cited the large number of progressive initiatives passed to counter the idea that Donald Trump and right-wing populism were supplanting progressive ideals.

Jim Hightower writes a nationally syndicated column carried by seventy-five independent weekly newspapers and other publications through Creators Syndicate.

Jim Hightower writes a monthly newsletter, The Jim Hightower Lowdown, which has more than 135,000 subscribers.

The newsletter is notable for its in-depth investigative reporting and criticism of George W Bush's administration, which Hightower claimed was beholden to corporations and extremist conservatives.

In January, 2022, Jim Hightower noted his support for the Rights of Nature movement.

The "Doug Jones Average", a concept created by Jim Hightower, is the proposal that in order to check the true health of the American economy, it is less useful to look at the Dow Jones Industrial Average than it is to check up on how the average worker down the street is doing.

The official Jim Hightower Archive is at the Wittliff collections of Southwestern Writers, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.