Hypocrite of the Year?

A shoe-thrower in Turkey protesting globalization and the IMF may have tossed a Nike? From the NYTimes

Idealistic Dreaming by a USDA Official

From Farm Policy

Reuters writer Roberta Rampton reported yesterday that, “The U.S. Agriculture Department could get better results from its agricultural research spending if it focused on a narrower list of priorities, the USDA’s top research official said on Wednesday.

“Rajiv Shah, the USDA’s undersecretary for research, education and economics, told a Congressional hearing that ‘the next six months will be a time of great organizational evolution’ as he reviews research conducted by USDA scientists as well as grants it gives to external research bodies.

“‘To do agricultural research really well, and to do it in a way that generates real benefits for people, we really believe that you have to focus for a long time on a specific, narrow set of scientific problems,’ Shah told Reuters after the hearing of a U.S. House agriculture subcommittee.”

The problem is, you've got to distribute the money among the states and crops. And note he was testifying to House Ag, not the appropriations subcommittee.

Whatever Happened to Employee Suggestions

That's my reaction to the use of Web 2.0 techniques to elicit ideas from employees.  Back in the olden days, when typewriters existed and were made of wood, ASCS had an employee suggestion program--write up an idea, send it up the line, to some near-sighted bureaucrat who would turn it down with all the reasons why it wouldn't work, was too expensive, was inappropriate, wasn't invented in DC, etc. etc.

A few suggestions were approved--but that was tricky.  Personnel had a formula for determining the award amount for approving a suggestion.  Something that would apply nationwide was worth more than something just for a state or commodity.  So you had to figure out how to slot an approved suggestion into the mix with other suggestions so as to get an award amount that made sense.

One that was approved was for field employees to use the IBM data handling utilities  (originally it was the Data File Utility, then upgraded to Query/36.) on the System/36  to do things without waiting upon DC and the Kansas City programmers. We had a struggle to get the right award amount approved for that.  So it's nice to see DC is still occasionally using the software, even 20 years later.

The Problems of Farmers Markets for the Poor

From the experience of an LA market:

"On a recent visit to the Harambee site, there were few visible signs of a vibrant farmers market. There were only three booths, with only one — Williamson’s — providing fresh fruits and vegetables.
Several years ago, the area was booming with Black farmers and produce. But according to Williamson, who set up shop there three years ago, many of the farmers either died, were too old to continue farming, moved on to flourishing farmers markets like the one in Hollywood, or simply could no longer afford it."

In part it's the old problem of a vicious circle, one problem feeds on another which feeds on another.  Minorities don't have the income, so they focus on the cheapest calories, which are unhealthiest, meaning more sickness, and since they are less likely to have health insurance (except Medicaid in some cases) they get worse, meaning they're less reliable workers, meaning more likely to be fired, meaning less income, meaning no cars, etc. etc.  All of which means poor returns for those who try to serve the minority market.

And, in today's Times, there was an article on a development in the Bronx, where there's a fight over including a supermarket.  As best I can tell, a supermarket is needed, but there's already a small chain in the Bronx which has cemented alliances with community activists, and is opposing the additional competition.

Management Lessons

I liked this list of 10 lessons for managers who want to change things from Government Executive.  I won't claim to have been particularly successful, but they make sense to me.  I'm not sure that President Obama is following them, particularly the "limit your goals" one.

It Takes a While to Change Agency Names

See this article on the Livestock Forage Disaster Program which uses the "Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service" (quoting someone who probably had a senior moment) from Seguin and Guadeloupe counties, TX.  There's also a complaint about the crop insurance requirement:

Federal relief for farmers is tied to a number of requirements that weren’t completely clear — including a requirement that those who apply for aid have crop or livestock insurance, which many smaller operations don’t carry.

“They had to take certain steps or be participants in certain programs in order to be eligible for assistance,” Wiggins said. “My question is, if a farmer has insurance, why would they need to apply for assistance?” [Exactly so :-) ]

The Learning Curve for Fluorescents

This Treehugger piece on choosing fluorescent bulbs notes the learning curve:

When you used to go into the hardware store, you were faced with a wide array of different shapes and wattages of bulbs, different ratings for lifetimes, there were dozens, if not hundreds of choices.
When people look at CFLs, they have no frame of reference of a lifetime of bulb shopping and just pick the cheap spirals and stick them everywhere. They don't go in pot lights, they shouldn't go upside down, and they should be chosen according to the specific condition, just like you used to when you bought a spot for a pot and a seven watter for the fridge. It is no more complicated.

Females Are Bigger, Dairy Industry Suffers

We can blame females for adding to the ills of dairy farmers. Turns out because the X chromosone weighs more than the Y, bull sperm can be fairly reliably separated into male and female. So, inseminate your cows with sperm with the X chromosone, you'll very likely have female calves.  And when the calf matures and is bred, you'll have another milk producer, which is just what dairy farmers need in an era of over-production and low prices.

The NYTimes article (click on title) says the sperm-weighing process became available in 2006, so the impact is just hitting.

(I note one of the dairymen quoted in the piece sounds Dutch--the Dutch have been migrating to the US for our cheaper land.)

Defending Our Liberty--NYPD and FBI

Mr. Zazi's case, as described in the NYTimes, reveals how our governmental structure protects our liberty.

I've mentioned Understanding America (at least I thought I had, though search does not find it--anyway it's a collection of essays on various topics emulating Tocqueville)--I think it's James Q Wilson who writes in the essay on the legal system, while Britain has essentially one police department, we have many thousands.  In the op-ed I link to, Mr. Sheehan describes the tensions and infighting between the FBI and the NYPD, which since 9/11 has developed its anti-terrorism units and deployed even overseas.  My point is, although my lead sentence is a bit sarcastic, basically the US relies not on efficient and effective government, but on our decentralized ineffective governments to protect liberties.  As a bureaucrat, I mourn that preference; as a failed historian, I understand it.

Enough Doctors?

I've suggested we need more medical personnel if health care reform goes through.  Here's a contrary opinion
passed on by Ezra Klein here.