Paul Cheeser - That's after I relayed yesterday that the U.S. burns "only" 25 percent of its corn as biofuels, which Associated Press insinuated was no big deal. Now this from the New York Times:
Each year, an ever larger portion of the world's crops - cassava and corn, sugar and palm oil - is being diverted for biofuels as developed countries pass laws mandating greater use of nonfossil fuels and as emerging powerhouses like China seek new sources of energy to keep their cars and industries running....
But with food prices rising sharply in recent months, many experts are calling on countries to scale back their headlong rush into green fuel development, arguing that the combination of ambitious biofuel targets and mediocre harvests of some crucial crops is contributing to high prices, hunger and political instability.
This year, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reported that its index of food prices was the highest in its more than 20 years of existence. Prices rose 15 percent from October to January alone, potentially "throwing an additional 44 million people in low- and middle-income countries into poverty," the World Bank said.
Soaring food prices have caused riots or contributed to political turmoil in a host of poor countries in recent months, including Algeria, Egypt and Bangladesh, where palm oil, a common biofuel ingredient, provides crucial nutrition to a desperately poor populace. During the second half of 2010, the price of corn rose steeply - 73 percent in the United States - an increase that the United Nations World Food Program attributed in part to the greater use of American corn for bioethanol.
This after the AP reported yesterday:
Ethanol producers acknowledge they've increased demand for corn but say it's not enough to affect food prices.
Matt Hartwig, a spokesman for the Renewable Fuels Association, said the ethanol industry only uses about 25 percent of the nation's corn supply.
So who are you going to believe: the UN World Food Program, or a flack for the Renewable Fuels Association? I know, some choice.
Showing posts with label food prices. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food prices. Show all posts
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
44 Million Americans On Food Stamps "Change We All Can Believe In"
When Barack Obama, the Federal Reserve and the mainstream media tell us that we are in the middle of an economic recovery, is that supposed to be some kind of sick joke? According to newly released numbers, over 44 million Americans are now on food stamps. That is a new all-time record and that number is 13.1% higher than it was just one year ago. So how many Americans have to go on food stamps before we can all finally agree that the U.S. economy is dying? 50 million? 60 million? All of us? The food stamp program is the modern equivalent of the old bread lines. More than one out of every seven Americans now depends on the federal government for food. Oh, but haven’t you heard? The economy is showing dramatic improvement. Corporate profits are up. The stock market is soaring. Happy days are here again.
It just seems inconceivable that anyone can claim that the economy is improving when the number of Americans on food stamps continues to set a brand new record every single month. But the food stamp program is not the only indicator that the economy is still having massive problems. The following are 10 more reasons why the U.S. economy is simply not getting any better….
#1 Some recent statistics actually indicate that the number of unemployed Americans is still going up. According to Gallup, unemployment in the United States rose to 10.3% at the end of February. That is the highest number Gallup has reported since early last year.
#2 The housing industry is still a complete and total disaster. In fact, new home sales in the U.S. in January were 11.2% lower than they were in December. Not only that, the number of new home sales in January was 18.6% lower than the number of new home sales in January 2010. That is not a sign of improvement.
#3 There wouldn’t even be much of a housing industry at all at this point if it was not for the U.S. government. Right now the U.S. government is either writing or guaranteeing well over 90 percent of all mortgages in the United States. So what would the housing market look like in 2011 if the government was not in the picture?
#4 In 2010, more than a million U.S. families lost their homes to foreclosure for the first time ever, and that number is expected to go even higher in 2011.
#5 Due to rampant economic decay and record numbers of foreclosures there are areas in most of our major cities that now look like “war zones”. For example, the Huffington Post is reporting that there are now approximately 15,000 vacant buildings in the city of Chicago and there are approximately 60,000 vacant houses and apartments in the city of Las Vegas.
#6 According to the Oil Price Information Service, U.S. drivers spent an average of $347 on gasoline during the month of February, which was 30 percent more than a year earlier. This represented 8.5% of median monthly income. So what is going to happen when gas prices go even higher? Sadly, the average price of gasoline in the U.S. has risen another 4 cents since yesterday and it is likely to go much higher from here.
#7 The U.S. trade deficit continues to grow. The trade deficit was about 33 percent larger in 2010 than it was in 2009, and the 2011 trade deficit is expected to be even bigger.
#8 The CredAbility Consumer Distress Index, which measures the average financial condition of U.S. households, declined in every single quarter in 2010.
#9 The number of Americans that have become so discouraged that they have given up searching for work completely now stands at an all-time high.
#10 The U.S. national debt is growing faster than ever. The Obama administration is projecting that the federal budget deficit for this fiscal year will be a new all-time record 1.65 trillion dollars. It is hard to even imagine how much money that is. If you went out today and started spending one dollar every single second, it would take you over 31,000 years to spend one trillion dollars. Long ago the U.S. government should have been getting these deficits under control, but instead they are just getting even larger.
So in light of the statistics above, can anyone really claim that we are in the middle of an economic recovery?
The truth is that there is no sign that any of the long-term trends that are destroying the U.S. economy are even slowing down.
Millions of jobs continue to be shipped overseas.
The U.S. dollar continues to be devalued.
The federal government continues to go into more debt.
State and local governments continue to go into more debt.
Our trade deficit continues to grow.
Our cities continue to be transformed into wastelands as they are being systematically deindustrialized.
The number of Americans that are dependent on the government continues to soar.
The U.S. middle class continues to shrink.
I know that I harp on these themes over and over, but it is vitally important that everyone understands that the mainstream media is lying to us.
The U.S. economy is dying a very painful death and there is no hope on the horizon.
Things are not going to be getting better. Well, they may get a bit better for the boys down on Wall Street, but for the rest of us our standards of living are going to continue to decline.
The best days for the U.S. economy are already behind us. What lies ahead is a whole lot of pain.
We are going to pay the price for decades of corruption and incompetence.
It just seems inconceivable that anyone can claim that the economy is improving when the number of Americans on food stamps continues to set a brand new record every single month. But the food stamp program is not the only indicator that the economy is still having massive problems. The following are 10 more reasons why the U.S. economy is simply not getting any better….
#1 Some recent statistics actually indicate that the number of unemployed Americans is still going up. According to Gallup, unemployment in the United States rose to 10.3% at the end of February. That is the highest number Gallup has reported since early last year.
#2 The housing industry is still a complete and total disaster. In fact, new home sales in the U.S. in January were 11.2% lower than they were in December. Not only that, the number of new home sales in January was 18.6% lower than the number of new home sales in January 2010. That is not a sign of improvement.
#3 There wouldn’t even be much of a housing industry at all at this point if it was not for the U.S. government. Right now the U.S. government is either writing or guaranteeing well over 90 percent of all mortgages in the United States. So what would the housing market look like in 2011 if the government was not in the picture?
#4 In 2010, more than a million U.S. families lost their homes to foreclosure for the first time ever, and that number is expected to go even higher in 2011.
#5 Due to rampant economic decay and record numbers of foreclosures there are areas in most of our major cities that now look like “war zones”. For example, the Huffington Post is reporting that there are now approximately 15,000 vacant buildings in the city of Chicago and there are approximately 60,000 vacant houses and apartments in the city of Las Vegas.
#6 According to the Oil Price Information Service, U.S. drivers spent an average of $347 on gasoline during the month of February, which was 30 percent more than a year earlier. This represented 8.5% of median monthly income. So what is going to happen when gas prices go even higher? Sadly, the average price of gasoline in the U.S. has risen another 4 cents since yesterday and it is likely to go much higher from here.
#7 The U.S. trade deficit continues to grow. The trade deficit was about 33 percent larger in 2010 than it was in 2009, and the 2011 trade deficit is expected to be even bigger.
#8 The CredAbility Consumer Distress Index, which measures the average financial condition of U.S. households, declined in every single quarter in 2010.
#9 The number of Americans that have become so discouraged that they have given up searching for work completely now stands at an all-time high.
#10 The U.S. national debt is growing faster than ever. The Obama administration is projecting that the federal budget deficit for this fiscal year will be a new all-time record 1.65 trillion dollars. It is hard to even imagine how much money that is. If you went out today and started spending one dollar every single second, it would take you over 31,000 years to spend one trillion dollars. Long ago the U.S. government should have been getting these deficits under control, but instead they are just getting even larger.
So in light of the statistics above, can anyone really claim that we are in the middle of an economic recovery?
The truth is that there is no sign that any of the long-term trends that are destroying the U.S. economy are even slowing down.
Millions of jobs continue to be shipped overseas.
The U.S. dollar continues to be devalued.
The federal government continues to go into more debt.
State and local governments continue to go into more debt.
Our trade deficit continues to grow.
Our cities continue to be transformed into wastelands as they are being systematically deindustrialized.
The number of Americans that are dependent on the government continues to soar.
The U.S. middle class continues to shrink.
I know that I harp on these themes over and over, but it is vitally important that everyone understands that the mainstream media is lying to us.
The U.S. economy is dying a very painful death and there is no hope on the horizon.
Things are not going to be getting better. Well, they may get a bit better for the boys down on Wall Street, but for the rest of us our standards of living are going to continue to decline.
The best days for the U.S. economy are already behind us. What lies ahead is a whole lot of pain.
We are going to pay the price for decades of corruption and incompetence.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Walmart: CEO Predicts Inflation And Higer Prices In June
Steven Birn - Wal-Mart CEO Bill Simon says inflation is going to hit hard beginning in June. Simon claims that prices will begin rising dramatically, though he doesn’t say what markets will be affected the most. We can only presume he’s speaking about markets that Wal-Mart sells a lot of such as clothing and food. This isn’t a surprise to folks who pay close attention to commodity markets. Cotton prices have doubled in the last year, corn us up 75%, meat is up 25-50% depending on animal, butter is up 25% etc.
Meanwhile gas prices have doubled since Obama took office. Gas prices averaged $1.79 when Obama took office, they now average $3.58. Here in Michigan gas is around $3.69, in California it’s over $4.00 a gallon. I’ve seen diesel for $3.99 in Michigan, which means transportation costs are through the roof. Gas prices, particularly diesel, are going to lead to the price increases Wal-Mart is concerned about. Today oil is over $106 a barrel, the highest it’s been since Obama took office. If that price holds, gas prices will go even higher.
I have been concerned about inflation since Bush’s bailout in 2008. The Bush bailout and the Obama stimulus helped launch this country into a massive budget deficit. Obama has done nothing to cut the deficit, in fact Democrats are busy declaring that Republican desires to cut a measly $40 billion from the budget are “extreme.” Worse, the Fed is busy printing money like cut rate counterfeiters. That’s what’s really killing us. For each dollar they print, the money we earn each day becomes worth less. This means we can buy less with our money when prices rise.
Obama is clearly uninterested in inflation, he’s barely discussed the matter at all. I said a couple years ago that inflation would be the biggest issue in the 2012 election. Don’t be surprised if it is right up their with jobs. Obama has ignored this problem, going so far as to pretend it doesn’t exist. Those of us who go to the grocery each week have watched inflation in action over the last year as prices for just about everything have increased substantially. Everyone has seen the price of gas increase dramatically over the past year.
What is the solution to this inflation mess? First, the Fed has got to stop printing money. The Fed has printed billions over the past two years and it’s negatively affecting prices and making savings worthless. Second, government needs to make substantial cuts in spending. Their out of control spending is part of the reason why the Fed is printing money, those two issues go hand in hand. Third, government needs to cut taxes so that the costs of inflation are offset for the middle class and in fact for all taxpayers. Fourth, government needs to reduce regulations, especially on small businesses. A reduction in regulations, including the simplification of the corporate tax code, will spur the economy and ultimately offset inflation for most Americans. Fifth, Obamacare needs to be repealed.
Instead of doing what I suggest, Obama will continue to propose more government intervention in the economy. He’ll create more boogy man bad guys like those wicked oil companies or the banks or Wall Street or pick your big business that doesn’t donate to Democrats. Those tactics, which Obama has employed for years, will not halt inflation and will not help the middle class. More government planners dictating the economy from on high in DC will not fix inflation and will not make things easier for the middle class. Only a reduction in government and stopping the Fed printing press will halt inflation and make things stable for us in the middle class.
Meanwhile gas prices have doubled since Obama took office. Gas prices averaged $1.79 when Obama took office, they now average $3.58. Here in Michigan gas is around $3.69, in California it’s over $4.00 a gallon. I’ve seen diesel for $3.99 in Michigan, which means transportation costs are through the roof. Gas prices, particularly diesel, are going to lead to the price increases Wal-Mart is concerned about. Today oil is over $106 a barrel, the highest it’s been since Obama took office. If that price holds, gas prices will go even higher.
I have been concerned about inflation since Bush’s bailout in 2008. The Bush bailout and the Obama stimulus helped launch this country into a massive budget deficit. Obama has done nothing to cut the deficit, in fact Democrats are busy declaring that Republican desires to cut a measly $40 billion from the budget are “extreme.” Worse, the Fed is busy printing money like cut rate counterfeiters. That’s what’s really killing us. For each dollar they print, the money we earn each day becomes worth less. This means we can buy less with our money when prices rise.
Obama is clearly uninterested in inflation, he’s barely discussed the matter at all. I said a couple years ago that inflation would be the biggest issue in the 2012 election. Don’t be surprised if it is right up their with jobs. Obama has ignored this problem, going so far as to pretend it doesn’t exist. Those of us who go to the grocery each week have watched inflation in action over the last year as prices for just about everything have increased substantially. Everyone has seen the price of gas increase dramatically over the past year.
What is the solution to this inflation mess? First, the Fed has got to stop printing money. The Fed has printed billions over the past two years and it’s negatively affecting prices and making savings worthless. Second, government needs to make substantial cuts in spending. Their out of control spending is part of the reason why the Fed is printing money, those two issues go hand in hand. Third, government needs to cut taxes so that the costs of inflation are offset for the middle class and in fact for all taxpayers. Fourth, government needs to reduce regulations, especially on small businesses. A reduction in regulations, including the simplification of the corporate tax code, will spur the economy and ultimately offset inflation for most Americans. Fifth, Obamacare needs to be repealed.
Instead of doing what I suggest, Obama will continue to propose more government intervention in the economy. He’ll create more boogy man bad guys like those wicked oil companies or the banks or Wall Street or pick your big business that doesn’t donate to Democrats. Those tactics, which Obama has employed for years, will not halt inflation and will not help the middle class. More government planners dictating the economy from on high in DC will not fix inflation and will not make things easier for the middle class. Only a reduction in government and stopping the Fed printing press will halt inflation and make things stable for us in the middle class.
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