Friday, September 24, 2010
Freudian Slips in Pledge to America
Brad DeLong quoting another site on the people pictured in the Republican Pledge to America. (The title of the post says it all.)
Urban Farming, Its Ironies
I don't know the history of the garden, but in Ben Affleck's The Town some key scenes take place in the Charlestown community garden (can't find a link to the garden on line, but Google gives some possibilities and the picture link shows it's rather lush. Cynic that I am I'll be interested in the director's commentary on the garden.
The food movement loves to embrace urban farming. That's fine, if there's a vacant lot, if you don't have park money the best use you can make of it is to open a community garden. It's good for the community and good for the environment.
However, and you knew there was a however coming, the environmental benefits of the urban setting come from density. New York City is one of the best places to live to have the smallest impact on the environment, simply because it's efficient to live and work in dense places. (Recently there's been challenges to the benefits of telework because it might be more efficient to heat and light offices for 1,000 people than 1,000 homes each with its own officeworker working from home, even considering the costs of commuting.)
The market tells us it's not efficient to have permanent farms in the heart of the city. I'm enough of a conservative to believe it.
The food movement loves to embrace urban farming. That's fine, if there's a vacant lot, if you don't have park money the best use you can make of it is to open a community garden. It's good for the community and good for the environment.
However, and you knew there was a however coming, the environmental benefits of the urban setting come from density. New York City is one of the best places to live to have the smallest impact on the environment, simply because it's efficient to live and work in dense places. (Recently there's been challenges to the benefits of telework because it might be more efficient to heat and light offices for 1,000 people than 1,000 homes each with its own officeworker working from home, even considering the costs of commuting.)
The market tells us it's not efficient to have permanent farms in the heart of the city. I'm enough of a conservative to believe it.
The Limits of Planning: Reston and Jobs
"Q: What is the biggest change you have seen in Reston during your time here?
A: Without question it would be the number of jobs. In the beginning Reston was slated for one job per household, which would mean 22,000 jobs. Now there are close to three jobs per household."
From an interview with a guy who's been in Reston longer than I. Robert Simon wanted Reston to be a place where you worked and lived, but you can see it's not the way it's developed. With the coming of Metro to Wiehle Avenue I suspect the jobs/household ratio will shift further.
A: Without question it would be the number of jobs. In the beginning Reston was slated for one job per household, which would mean 22,000 jobs. Now there are close to three jobs per household."
From an interview with a guy who's been in Reston longer than I. Robert Simon wanted Reston to be a place where you worked and lived, but you can see it's not the way it's developed. With the coming of Metro to Wiehle Avenue I suspect the jobs/household ratio will shift further.
Ezra Klein Is Right: No Government Waste
"There's no such thing as government waste." from a good post by Ezra Klein
The point is, of course, that while probably 70 percent of Americans think farm program payments are an example of waste, the nation through its elected representatives and senators has determined otherwise. And that's just an example. Personally I think there's lots of "waste" in DOD, but the nation doesn't agree with my wisdom.
The point is, of course, that while probably 70 percent of Americans think farm program payments are an example of waste, the nation through its elected representatives and senators has determined otherwise. And that's just an example. Personally I think there's lots of "waste" in DOD, but the nation doesn't agree with my wisdom.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Kudos for Sibelius
The NYTimes today had a chart grading the first 6 months of the PPACA healthcare reform. Regardless of one's opinion of the act, it's worth noting and appreciating the fact that HHS has done a good job the first six months in getting regulations written and other practical steps needed to implement. We all can agree if the act is poorly implemented it will be a bad thing. Some of us think it will be a good thing if well implemented.
One item where the authors give poor marks is the effectiveness of state governments, though that seems to reflect the opposition of Republican governors to the act. (Which leads me back to the theme of the weakness of the federal government.)
One item where the authors give poor marks is the effectiveness of state governments, though that seems to reflect the opposition of Republican governors to the act. (Which leads me back to the theme of the weakness of the federal government.)
History and Food, a Dissenting View
John Phipps recommends this article by a historian who challenges some foodie myths; I concur. It's good, although she paints with too broad a brush. It's true that the rural residents in past realms didn't eat well, just look at the diet of black Americans in the ante-bellum South. "High on the hog" implies a "low on the hog". But it's true some areas in some times ate well. Colonial Pennsylvanians were significantly taller on average than the British troops who opposed them in the Revolution. That's nit-picking, though. The article is worth reading by anyone interested in food.
What Costs the Most, Labor to Make a Car or Wheat to Make Bread
According to this: "First, labor only accounts for only about 7 percent of the cost of a car." Interview with Steven Rattner quoted at Ezra Klein.
That surprising fact reminds me of a similar observation:: "A $2.59 loaf of white bread contains 14 cents worth of wheat." That won't prevent bakers from raising prices based on higher wheat prices.
That surprising fact reminds me of a similar observation:: "A $2.59 loaf of white bread contains 14 cents worth of wheat." That won't prevent bakers from raising prices based on higher wheat prices.
I Tip Well, Because I Had Food Service Experience
As such, I fit the result of a study described here.
What are the proverbs about walking a mile in the other person's shoes? Not that I ever got tips, but serving food in a college dormitory is an educational experience.
What are the proverbs about walking a mile in the other person's shoes? Not that I ever got tips, but serving food in a college dormitory is an educational experience.
This Must Be Wrong, Though Tyler Cowan Cites It
Marginal revolution refers to this paper (it's not free, so I'm not getting it):
This paper investigates the institutional causes of China’s Great Famine. It presents two empirical findings: 1) in 1959, when the famine began, food production was almost three times more than population subsistence needs; and 2) regions with higher per capita food production that year suffered higher famine mortality rates, a surprising reversal of a typically negative correlation. A simple model based on historical institutional details shows that these patterns are consistent with the policy outcomes in a centrally planned economy in which the government is unable to easily collect and respond to new information in the presence of an aggregate shock to production.I can't believe the first sentence: a country of some 500-600 million people had food sufficient for 1.5 billion? No way, no how. [Update: according to Wikipedia, food production in 59-60 was 70 percent of pre-famine levels.]
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Our Weak Federal Government
From a Post story today comes another reminder of why I firmly believe our Federal government is weak. The story is about the problems states face in implementing the health care law. Lots of people in 50 states plus the territories have to do lots of different things. That's because HHS won't deal directly with health care providers or the public, all the dealing is done via the medium of the states and their departments.
I say "they won't deal directly" but that's only partially true. Go to healthcare.gov and you'll find explanations of the new rules. But, and it's an important but, prominent in the upper left of the page is a box: "Pick Your State", because the stuff which really matters is dependent on the decisions made by governors and state legislatures, and implemented, or not, by the state healthcare bureaucracy.
By compare, in a bureaucracy like FSA, the federal bureaucracy is dealing directly with farmers, through the medium of county offices. Granted, that simple statement hides a bunch of complexity, but if you're going to have fast and efficient implementation of decisions, that's the way you go. As a nation, however, we think it's better to waste time and money in favor of giving more power to state and local levels. We feel that will improve the quality of the decisions being implemented.
Over at the NYTimes Tom Friedman has a column on the differences between China and the U.S., noting they're able to build impressive things in a short time, while we take years and years to do things, like build at Ground Zero. Or India, another democracy, which is having problems building the infrastructure for the Commonwealth Games, as compared to China's preparations for the Olympics.
I say "they won't deal directly" but that's only partially true. Go to healthcare.gov and you'll find explanations of the new rules. But, and it's an important but, prominent in the upper left of the page is a box: "Pick Your State", because the stuff which really matters is dependent on the decisions made by governors and state legislatures, and implemented, or not, by the state healthcare bureaucracy.
By compare, in a bureaucracy like FSA, the federal bureaucracy is dealing directly with farmers, through the medium of county offices. Granted, that simple statement hides a bunch of complexity, but if you're going to have fast and efficient implementation of decisions, that's the way you go. As a nation, however, we think it's better to waste time and money in favor of giving more power to state and local levels. We feel that will improve the quality of the decisions being implemented.
Over at the NYTimes Tom Friedman has a column on the differences between China and the U.S., noting they're able to build impressive things in a short time, while we take years and years to do things, like build at Ground Zero. Or India, another democracy, which is having problems building the infrastructure for the Commonwealth Games, as compared to China's preparations for the Olympics.
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