I walk past Reston's Dogwood pool every day. The Reston Association has a proposal to redo the pool and its surroundings which is going through the hearings process. As part of that they've had a crew string white tape through the nearby trees, I guess to outline the area where trees will be cleared. What the crew does is tie the tape around one sapling (2-3" at shoulder height) then run the tape to another sapling and tie again, repeating the process around the area. Unfortunately, every time they run the tape they make it taut between each sapling. When they're through everything looks fine and neat. As time passes though, and the wind blows, and the saplings start to move, and they move in different directions, the result is the tape is first stressed and then it snaps. So a month later there are just a few segments of intact tape, but most are broken. Another month passes and RA sends the crew out again to remark the site.
Sometimes in life it's important to leave some slack.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Nostalgia Day at Farm Service Agency
Just attended Star Bryant's retirement party, 41 years of service and still looking good. Good to see some former co-workers, though the number is dwindling every year.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Target Price and Planted Acres
I hadn't heard of this possibility, but the winter canola people are opposed (from today's Farm Policy):
"Yesterday’s update noted that, “The Plains winter canola delegation made the trip to DC to voice their concerns and opposition to a new updated target price program under which deficiency payments would be ‘recoupled’ to production on planted acres up to the total aggregate crop base acres of a farm, effectively reversing the planting flexibility that has been in place since the 1996 farm bill. The target price program was reportedly a component of the legislation that the agriculture committees had intended to submit to the Super Committee as agriculture’s $23 billion contribution to deficit reduction before those efforts failed on November 23rd.
"Yesterday’s update noted that, “The Plains winter canola delegation made the trip to DC to voice their concerns and opposition to a new updated target price program under which deficiency payments would be ‘recoupled’ to production on planted acres up to the total aggregate crop base acres of a farm, effectively reversing the planting flexibility that has been in place since the 1996 farm bill. The target price program was reportedly a component of the legislation that the agriculture committees had intended to submit to the Super Committee as agriculture’s $23 billion contribution to deficit reduction before those efforts failed on November 23rd.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Fraud Recoveries, Bravo Obama
I could be cynical about this, but I'll take the story in the Post at face value, that is the Obama administration is doing well at identifying fraud:
Fraud recoveries are up considerably in recent years, the administration officials said, jumping by 167 percent since 2008. Justice has recovered $15 billion in total fraud since 2009, of which $8.4 billion was tied to health care fraud
Monday, December 12, 2011
"Shovel Ready" Projects
Last week's NYTimes had a piece on Vermont's efforts to recover from the damages wrought by Irene. Apparently they're almost done replacing and repairing the bridges, roads, etc. which were damaged, making repairs much faster and much cheaper than the governor had originally thought possible..
A couple other data points: there was the replacement of the Minneapolis bridge over the Mississippi and the repair in California of earthquake damage, IIRC, to a bridge. In all three cases, construction went faster than people thought possible.
Compare this with Obama's complaint that the "shovel-ready" projects funded by his stimulus turned out not to be so shovel ready after all and the recurrent comparisons of the speed with which China is doing big construction jobs with our slowness.
Now the key to the fast work in VT, CA, MN was it was reconstructing something, not doing it for the first time, and the "something" was critical infrastructure. So on the one hand you had a vocal constituency for fast action; all the people whose commutes were disrupted or travel prevented by the lack of a workable bridge or highway would make their voices heard. I well remember from my working days how upset I could get if my commute was screwed up.
On the other hand, there's really no opposing force: the taxpayers recognize that damage due to natural disasters has to be repaired. And there's no NIMY's at work--the neighbors, if any and there may not be many, have already been living with the bridge or highway and have adjusted their lives to it. Anyone who was really hurt by the initial building has likely moved away, so the calculation of utility in this case shows everyone wins and no one loses.
Unfortunately this logic doesn't work for most projects. Yes, there are a few straight reconstructions, but in most cases projects involve changes, replacing an old 2-lane bridge with a 4-lane, widening and straightening a highway, etc. Change means there's likely NIMBY's, who must be assuaged by a consultation and review process. That's what democracy requires, unlike the command state of China.
A couple other data points: there was the replacement of the Minneapolis bridge over the Mississippi and the repair in California of earthquake damage, IIRC, to a bridge. In all three cases, construction went faster than people thought possible.
Compare this with Obama's complaint that the "shovel-ready" projects funded by his stimulus turned out not to be so shovel ready after all and the recurrent comparisons of the speed with which China is doing big construction jobs with our slowness.
Now the key to the fast work in VT, CA, MN was it was reconstructing something, not doing it for the first time, and the "something" was critical infrastructure. So on the one hand you had a vocal constituency for fast action; all the people whose commutes were disrupted or travel prevented by the lack of a workable bridge or highway would make their voices heard. I well remember from my working days how upset I could get if my commute was screwed up.
On the other hand, there's really no opposing force: the taxpayers recognize that damage due to natural disasters has to be repaired. And there's no NIMY's at work--the neighbors, if any and there may not be many, have already been living with the bridge or highway and have adjusted their lives to it. Anyone who was really hurt by the initial building has likely moved away, so the calculation of utility in this case shows everyone wins and no one loses.
Unfortunately this logic doesn't work for most projects. Yes, there are a few straight reconstructions, but in most cases projects involve changes, replacing an old 2-lane bridge with a 4-lane, widening and straightening a highway, etc. Change means there's likely NIMBY's, who must be assuaged by a consultation and review process. That's what democracy requires, unlike the command state of China.
Cruelty to Hens
Treehugger has a post trumpeting McDonald's decision to drop an egg supplier whose workers abused their chickens.
Here I have to reveal my crimes of the past: upon occasion when I was a boy I was cruel to some of our hens, doing some of the same things cited in the piece. I won't defend what I did. I will say, perhaps showing a conservative streak, whenever one person has power over something or someone you run the danger of abuse. That's true whether you're giving a young soldier a gun and putting him in a foreign land or giving a growing boy power over hens.
Based on that conviction I say to my foodie friends they can't assume that hens will get humane treatment with small growers. They just can't. Humans can be evil. I know, I was one.
Here I have to reveal my crimes of the past: upon occasion when I was a boy I was cruel to some of our hens, doing some of the same things cited in the piece. I won't defend what I did. I will say, perhaps showing a conservative streak, whenever one person has power over something or someone you run the danger of abuse. That's true whether you're giving a young soldier a gun and putting him in a foreign land or giving a growing boy power over hens.
Based on that conviction I say to my foodie friends they can't assume that hens will get humane treatment with small growers. They just can't. Humans can be evil. I know, I was one.
What's the Proper Role of a Subordinate?
I read "Confidence Men" by Ron Suskind. He criticizes Larry Summers (or quotes sources criticizing him) for "relitigating" issues rather than saluting smartly and going off to see the president's previous decision was promptly implemented. It's part of a general theory that Obama was inexperienced as a manager, not well served by Emanuel and other staff with more experience, and not comfortable with some of the issues.
Of course, in my experience, not in the White House but in the South Building, it's usually the case that the subordinate knows more than the boss; that's the result of bureaucratic specialization. And what we know, or think we know, often ties to strong emotions: most people like to be right. It's also the case the boss never knows everything the subordinate is doing, or has to do. And sometimes it's the case the boss doesn't know what has to be done to implement a decision. Put everything together and it's quite possible for boss and subordinate to have different views on what happens after a meeting when a decision is made.
Of course, in my experience, not in the White House but in the South Building, it's usually the case that the subordinate knows more than the boss; that's the result of bureaucratic specialization. And what we know, or think we know, often ties to strong emotions: most people like to be right. It's also the case the boss never knows everything the subordinate is doing, or has to do. And sometimes it's the case the boss doesn't know what has to be done to implement a decision. Put everything together and it's quite possible for boss and subordinate to have different views on what happens after a meeting when a decision is made.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Thursday, December 08, 2011
Why Bureaucrats Don't Like Contractors
Margaret Soltan at University Diaries posts about a scandal at Aerospace Corp. Seems they employed on a government contract a Phd from Oxford who really had only a high school diploma, and who didn't work the hours he claimed. Aerospace didn't have any incentive to police him because they were charging the government more than they were paying the supposed engineer.
$20000 an Acre
Is there anyone who doesn't think this is a bubble? (Someone paid $20,000 an acre for Iowa farmland.) I'll admit it's possible that the bubble's bursting won't be like the early 1980's, but still. The Kansas City FRB weighs in.
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