"A record 511 people reported income over $1M in 1928; 26 reported income over $5M, with 11 of those in NY State."Compare that to this, from Business Week (Bloomberg):
"The 400 highest-earning U.S. households reported an average of $345 million in income in 2007, up 31 percent from a year earlier, IRS statistics show."So the incomes of the rich have multiplied many times since 1930. (I won't give a multiple because the figures are apples and oranges.)
"The Ad Council and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network have developed a Web site, ThinkB4YouSpeak.com, that, much like R-Word.org, encourages the public to sign a pledge to cease using the phrase. (The slogan: "Saying that's so gay is so yesterday."):"
Maddox supports the Holstein association’s proposed supply management plan, known as the Dairy Price Stabilization Program. The plan calls for a national, mandatory program that sets a base for milk production and assesses producers a fee if they exceed it.I don't recall, but I think other countries have had such plans. And it might be bureaucratically possible. The key to supply management is to have complete reports of product flow from the farm to the next step, such as the tobacco warehouse. Is it likely? It would need legislation. And my gut answer is: "no", but we'll see.
The death of MyerEmco can also be blamed on changing consumer behavior. In the past, specialty stores such as MyerEmco could charge more than big-box rivals, such as Best Buy, because they employed highly trained sales-and-service staff who were knowledgeable about the products they sold.The logic works for me. But isn't this just a small example of a change in how information is handled in the economy? There's probably lots of instances where someone who used to know something others didn't has lost that edge. I'm thinking of pharmacists, whose patients can now look up illnesses on the Internet; government operatives who deal face to face with customers, repairmen, etc.
But with the proliferation of product information on the Internet, consumers are far less likely to walk into a bricks-and-mortar store and spend time speaking to an expert about a premium audio receiver than they once were. Consumers can learn about the receiver by consulting online experts and reading customer reviews. Then, they shop online for the cheapest price on the product, altogether bypassing specialist retailers. And even if prices at a specialist retailer were comparable to Big Box and online sellers -- as they were at MyerEmco in recent years -- the smaller stores carried a reputation for higher prices, and that perception has proved difficult to change.
"Where bull calves may be worth only $50, heifer calves may be worth $450"
“A primary assumption for all the crop budgets is that the marketable yield of organic production will average about 70 to 75 percent of conventional crop yields,” Swenson says. However, experienced organic growers have achieved higher yields. New organic growers and those with less success in managing pests and fertility under an organic system may find it difficult to achieve 70 percent of conventional yields. Also, to meet stringent standards, the cleanout for organic grain typically is greater than for conventional markets. This also is a factor in estimating marketable yields.”Harshaw's Law No 1, which I haven't repeated in a while: you never do it right the first time you try.
The increase in production efficiency with the use of seed with biotech traits to provide insect resistance or herbicide tolerance has resulted in more bushels being available to the market. More production means a lower price in most markets. The result of growing use of biotech crops has lead to a $25 billion dollar loss to farmers over the past 10 years, but a gain for consumers. Even without the use of biotech seeds, production would have increased, but not enough to replace the loss.I'd observe you could set up some boilerplate like so:
I blogged recently about farmers cooperating and competing, particularly in the context of carbon cap and trade/environmental legislation. I'd repeat the observation here--in the case of innovations which work out (and not all innovations do--I remember when birdsfoot trefoil was the next great thing) the early adapters will gain an advantage, but an advantage which rapidly fades."The increase in production efficiency with [insert relevant innovation] has resulted in more bushels being available to the market. More production means a lower price in most markets. The result of [innovation] has led to a $[insert amount] dollar loss to farmers over the past 10 years, but a gain for consumers."
"The oncoming work force in agriculture takes far less time to learn new computing skills and applications, is more willing to experiment, and faces simpler ways to resolve the decreasing number of hangups. (We outlived Vista, for example). While we are only scratching the surface of what computers can do, we are far more likely to tap that potential with farmers who learned keyboarding early, as opposed to hunt-and-peck dinosaurs such as yours truly.
The second wave of productivity boost arises from connectivity. Let's face it - we are the Borg. Our farms never have to pause to share information between brains. (In fact, many of us are looking for ways to control the "sharing") From locating tools to sourcing parts to explaining how to unplug the header, farmers don't have to travel "there" first to solve the problem. The result is more experiential knowledge is available all the time and with ease.
The other big change for the better is technology is overcoming our aversion to writing. From e-mails to stored text messages, more of our communication is searchable, readable, and permanent. The gains for information leakage and loss are likely immense. "
Lee often said that he loved three things. He loved Carol. He loved his cats. And he loved political science. He was fond of a quip about the South Dakota farmer, emblematic of the reserved and modest Midwesterner, who loved his wife so much he almost told her.
The statistics of cotton production and consumption in different countries across the world were recently revealed by the International Cotton Advisory Committee, showing a steady decline in cotton production in Pakistan from 2.194 million tons in 2005 to 2.08 million tons in 2009. India on the other hand increased its cotton production from 4.097 million tons in 2005 to 5.34 million tons in 2009. Accordingly, India’s cotton export has increased while that of Pakistan is facing difficulty. China too has increased its cotton production while its indigenous consumption has decreased, allowing a greater margin for cotton export.
The increase in cotton production in India and China is said mainly to be the result of cultivating pest-resistant varieties of cotton seeds, which have not yet been introduced in Pakistan. On the other hand, Pakistan’s cotton cultivation has declined due to several factors ranging from cultivation of traditional varieties and via traditional methods, poor marketing, and failure in making timely payments to cotton producers.
It´s a bit more than 200 pages by now. Although it includes a chapter dealing with German reunification. In time these paragraphs will be "deleted" again.
As a German my trust in German bureaucracy returned when I discovered that the original "mandatory health insurance law for blue-collar workers" from 1884 consisted of just 13 pages.
At least we managed a 15-20 times increase in pages in 126 years. :)
While of course covering everyone by now...
Farm program activities include the following functions dealing with the administration of programs carried out through the farmer committee system of the FSA: (a) developing program regulations and procedures; (b) collecting and compiling basic data for individual farms; (c) establishing individual farm allotments for farm planting history; (d) notifying producers of established allotments and farm planting histories; (e) conducting referendums and certifying results; (f) accepting farmer certifications and checking compliance for specific purposes; (g) processing commodity loan documents and issuing checks; (h) processing direct and counter-cyclical payments and issuing checks; (i) certifying payment eligibility and monitoring payment limitations; and (j) processing farm storage facility loans and issuing checks.This language would have fit what ASCS did when I was hired in 1968, it would have been pretty good in 1933 when AAA was first created, but there's been little updating since (except for specifying "direct and counter-cyclical" payments).
The Obama administration also plans to use IT at the Treasury Department to reduce costs. The department plans to pay all employees electronically, eliminating the need to send paper check stubs, generating a savings of $2 million a year, OMB reported. Currently, Treasury sends paper pay stubs to more than 100,000 workers.
I suddenly noticed these younger colleagues, and when conversing with them, I reinforced my belief the biggest challenge facing me and our our farm was leaping up with the competition arising all around us.A couple points:
In fact, I think it is safe to say one of our worst fears has been realized: the best and brightest have returned to the farm. And they are quietly accruing by sheer ability and economic advantage the bulk of the market share for farmers.
The Administration proposes to limit farm subsidies to wealthy farmers by reducing the cap on Direct Payments by 25 percent, and reducing each of the Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) commodity payment eligibility limits for farm and non-farm income by $250,000 over three years. This proposal will allow the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to target payments to those who need and can benefit from them most, while at the same time preserving the safety net that protects farmers against low prices and natural disasters.
. But it is still an outrage that a lawyer who writes a memorandum arguing a legal position with which a subsequent administration disagrees can be threatened with disbarment.As a bureaucrat, I sympathize with the position--no one likes to have the rules changed on them after the fact. But what is missed is the fact that disbarment was raised by lawyers in the Bush Justice Department (admittedly the career types, not Bush appointees) and the Obama Justice Department softened the review significantly (again, admittedly the softening was done by a career man). See this Post article:
A draft report prepared at the end of the Bush years recommended that Yoo, now a law professor at the University of California at Berkeley, and Bybee, now a federal appeals court judge in Nevada, be referred to state disciplinary authorities for sanctions that could have included the revocation of their licenses to practice.[Article goes on to explain the subsequent softening. The Post article is an expansion of the AP piece, which didn't explicitly say when the draft report was prepared.]So, the bottom line is Powerline's outrage is misplaced.
. The authors estimate that between 2003 and 2008, a full 80% of all deaths were due to illness among those displaced by the conflict. In other words, this crisis has been 20% violence, the the vast majority of which was done by mid-2004. For the past six years (or really five years in the data reviewed), the problem has been diarrhea.
As stark as these numbers are, this ultimately means that Darfur followed the common pattern of violent internal conflicts: Initial massacres were followed by massive displacement and the loss of protective health systems, and the problems of displacement ultimately affected the well-being of the population more than the direct experiences of violence.
The Defense and Veterans Affairs departments finally have achieved full interoperability for their electronic health records and are beginning to move forward on development of a joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER) for each service member, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.
“Peterson suggested changes in the commission payments to agents. Under the current formula of paying crop insurance agents, commission is based on the premium to insure a crop. Thus, increases in commodity prices have raised the commission paid to an agent on average, from $500 per policy in 2004 to $1,450 in 2008. ‘You can’t defend’ that payment level, Peterson said, adding that he believes that paying agents a specific fee for each policy written may be a better system of compensation.”From a comment on Chris Clayton's blog:
Guys: In 2006 the Crop Insurance Companies Insured 242 million acres of crops and received $1.79 billion for their work and investment! For the 2008 crop they insured 272 million acres and received $4.65 billion for their work and investment. 2.6 times more money to insure 30 million more acres or a 12% workload increase for 30 million more acres! A nice little increase, right boys or windfall is maybe a better term? Please credit your source. Alan Roebke (REB-key)
Bob Redding provided an extensive review of upcoming legislative issues and what could be expected from the issues that are on the NASCOE agenda. He informed us that 2012 Farm Bill talks will begin in February. A lot of field hearings are anticipated due to their political advantages. NASCOE will be calling on numerous people to attend these hearings. We will be seeking out producers, committee members, farm bureau supporters and other partners to represent NASCOE at these hearings. In addition, we will be hoping for a significant NASCOE presence.
The modernization of USDA is still an important issue. Chairman Peterson has stated that he “still wants to do it.” However, the health care issue and other major issues have kept the calendars full. The best opportunity for anything to happen will be in the spring on 2010.
Another issue that appeared completely dead was Animal ID. However, the Secretary has been having closed door meetings on this issue. A recommendation for a national animal ID program is expected to be introduced based on these negotiations. Bob felt during the development of the new crop insurance agreement was an excellent time for NASCOE to trumpet how FSA could more effectively handle portions of this program. NASCOE continues to see this as a major area where we could expand and will be looking for more compliance and administrative duties. Insurance companies have been receiving Billions to administer this program. FSA could provide significant budget savings if a portion of those dollars were diverted to our budget.
He suggests that the rules should allow more fat and less sugar/carbs in school food.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Agriculture continued to supply schools that qualified with free commodity products—truckloads of beef, poultry, cheese, potatoes. But schools found they could make better use of these commodities if they were shipped directly to large food processors. Now the schools trade those raw commodities for finished products that come with benefits: not only do the schools not have to pay for skilled labor to process raw foods, they face much less risk of diseases that sometimes accompany raw products. Liability issues transfer to the big processors, and what the schools receive is a finished, precooked, frozen meal item that only needs to be heated in an oven before it can be served to students. Furthermore, large processors can design on a grand scale foods that fulfill the nutritional requirements set forth by the federal government
