From Pollan to the President

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I’ve been arguing for a while that Michigan–the state with the second greatest agricultural diversity after California–ought to use innovations in sustainable agriculture as part of its plan to drive economic recovery.  Agriculture is going to have to be more sustainably produced in the future, and MI is uniquely suited to lead in developing the policies and technology to accomplish this goal.

But then, we should be talking about how to pursue this sustainable future more widely.

Which is what Michael Pollan does in this long letter to the next President, recommending a number of changes to our food policies. Here are Pollan’s comments on the ties between our food and the petroleum that goes into it. 

After cars, the food system uses more fossil fuel than any other sector of the economy — 19 percent. And while the experts disagree about the exact amount, the way we feed ourselves contributes more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere than anything else we do — as much as 37 percent, according to one study. Whenever farmers clear land for crops and till the soil, large quantities of carbon are released into the air. But the 20th-century industrialization of agriculture has increased the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by the food system by an order of magnitude; chemical fertilizers (made from natural gas), pesticides (made from petroleum), farm machinery, modern food processing and packaging and transportation have together transformed a system that in 1940 produced 2.3 calories of food energy for every calorie of fossil-fuel energy it used into one that now takes 10 calories of fossil-fuel energy to produce a single calorie of modern supermarket food. Put another way, when we eat from the industrial-food system, we are eating oil and spewing greenhouse gases. This state of affairs appears all the more absurd when you recall that every calorie we eat is ultimately the product of photosynthesis — a process based on making food energy from sunshine.

[snip]

The F.D.A. should require that every packaged-food product include a second calorie count, indicating how many calories of fossil fuel went into its production. Oil is one of the most important ingredients in our food, and people ought to know just how much of it they’re eating.

[snip]

Read more →

McCain’s Housing Surge

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Almost no one on the left is talking about McCain’s attempt to seize the economic debate last night (conservatives would be, but they heard it and went into shock). But it’s a funny gimmick that deserves closer attention. Here’s what McCain proposed:

Shaffer: With the economy on the downturn and retired and older citizens and workers losing their incomes, what’s the fastest, most positive solution to bail these people out of the economic ruin?

[snip]

McCain: Well, thank you, Tom. Thank you, Belmont University. And Sen. Obama, it’s good to be with you at a town hall meeting.

And, Alan (ph), thank you for your question. You go to the heart of America’s worries tonight. Americans are angry, they’re upset, and they’re a little fearful. It’s our job to fix the problem.

[McCain babbles about energy independence, taxes, and our debt before he hits his housing plan]

We’ve got to have a package of reforms and it has got to lead to reform prosperity and peace in the world. And I think that this problem has become so severe, as you know, that we’re going to have to do something about home values.

You know that home values of retirees continues to decline and people are no longer able to afford their mortgage payments. As president of the United States, Alan, I would order the secretary of the treasury to immediately buy up the bad home loan mortgages in America and renegotiate at the new value of those homes — at the diminished value of those homes and let people be able to make those — be able to make those payments and stay in their homes.

Is it expensive? Yes. But we all know, my friends, until we stabilize home values in America, we’re never going to start turning around and creating jobs and fixing our economy. And we’ve got to give some trust and confidence back to America.

I know how the do that, my friends. And it’s my proposal, it’s not Sen. Obama’s proposal, it’s not President Bush’s proposal. But I know how to get America working again, restore our economy and take care of working Americans. Thank you. [my emphasis]

Mind you, this was McCain’s answer to the first question–he had come into the auditorium, gone immediately to his notepad to write down whatever he was coached on backstage, and then given this answer to the first question.  Read more →

Are There ANY Adults Left in the Republican Party?

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The RNC just released an ad attacking the bailout their president and their presidential candidate have been pushing. Sure, ostensibly it’s an attack on Obama’s plan to provide stimulus for the economy–but the whole thing is premised on Bush’s bailout.

It turns out, the ad was sent to stations yesterday morning, before the bailout bill failed.

The ad, however, seems to assume that it can safely attack a successful plan. And the reason may be the timing: Though it started airing this morning, the spot was released to stations yesterday morning, ad executives at stations in Michigan and Pennsylvania said.

Kae Buck of WLNS in Lansing said her station received the at at 7:55 a.m. Monday.  Luanne Russell of Pittsburgh’s WTAE said her station received it at 10:49 Monday morning.

The ad taps into deep resentment of the plan, but it comes at a time when the candidate it supports, John McCain, is urging its package, and asking that it not be referred to as a "bailout," but a "rescue."

If I were Reid and Pelosi, I’d condition any further bailout negotiations on the RNC withdrawing the ad and apologizing for it. It’s bad enough Bush fucked up the economy so badly. Now his party wants to use his own failure to beat Democrats over the head for their plans to fix the broken economy.

Update: Just fixed bone-headed grammar mistake in the title.

Barney Promises to Be Really Nice to the Poor Little Republicans

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Me, I say we start asking John Boehner to name names–to list the 12 Republicans who put their poor little feelings ahead of the economy.

The Bush Economy

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djia-bush.thumbnail.jpg

January 19, 2001: 10,587.59
September 29, 2008: 10,365.45

NASDAQ Jan 19, 2001 = 2770.38
NASDAQ September 29, 2008 = 1983.73

CPI, January 19, 2001: 175
CPI, September 29, 2008: 219

Dollar exchange with Euro, January 19, 2001: 1.068
Dollar exchange with Euro, September 29, 2008: .695

Tweety Blames McCain

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And why not? After all, McCain said he was responsible this morning. 

One thing that works in our favor for the CW (in assigning the blame for this to the Republicans) is that most TV pundits are so solidly members of the village, they can’t imagine sacrificing Wall Street to the fates of the free market. So I expect it won’t just be Tweety blaming Republicans–and John McCain in particular.

McCain Says He’s Responsible

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From ThinkProgress:

“[T]his bill would not have been agreed to had it not been for John McCain. … But, you know, this is a bipartisan accomplishment, a bipartisan success. And if people want to get something done in Washington, they just watch John McCain.” — Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, 9/29/08

“Earlier in the week, when Senator McCain came back to Washington, there had been no deal reached. … What Senator McCain was able to do was to help bring all the parties to the table, including the House Republicans.” — Senior adviser Steve Schmidt, 9/28/08

“But here are the facts, and I’m not overselling anything. The fact is that the House Republicans were not in the mix at all. John didn’t phone this one in. He came and actually did something. … You can’t phone something like this in. Thank God John came back.” — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), 9/28/08

“Before John McCain suspended his campaign yesterday, the situation that we’re looking at today looked very different then. After he showed leadership and called for bipartisanship, for us to partisanship aside and tackle this solution head on, here we are.” — Spokesman Tucker Bounds, 9/25/08

Great work, McCain!! Here we are, thanks to McCain.

Update: Meanwhile, McCain’s hiding in the front of the Straight No Talk Express trying to figure out what he can say about this.

After bragging today about his role in shaping the economic bailout package, Sen. John McCain has made no statement to the press since the defeat of the bill, in part at the hands of House Republicans. McCain boarded his Straight Talk Air charter plane a few minutes ago, but the plane has not taken off yet. McCain is in the front of the plane, separated from reporters by a brown curtain

Bailout Fails: Where Do We Go From Here?

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picture-40.pngThe bailout bill in the House just failed, 205-228. Last I counted, the Republicans had fallen short of even delivering the 70 yes votes they promised.

The stockmarket is bouncing up and down like a basketball–down 700, then down 400, and now down 600, now 450. 

Which is as good an indication as anything else that no one knows what happens now. 

I just heard a Barney Frank quote saying he’d wait to see how the markets react before deciding where to go now.

Barney: Think basketball. 

Update: vote total fixed per Hugh.

McCain Out-Hoovers Hoover

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Sure, the comparisons between Herbert Hoover and McCain were inevitable ever since McCain asserted "the fundamentals of the economy are strong."

But if you think about it, McCain’s about to do Hoover one better. After all, Hoover didn’t fuck up the response to a financial crisis until after he was President. McCain’s little photo op seems to have scuttled the Paulson deal, just as it was almost finalized.

Democrats complained of being “blindsided” by a new conservative
alternative to the plan first put forward by Treasury Secretary Henry
Paulson. And the outcome casts doubt on the ability of Congress to move
quickly on the matter, even after leaders of House and Senate banking
committees reached a bipartisan agreement Thursday on the framework for
legislation authorizing the massive government intervention.

It was McCain who urged President Bush to call the White House
meeting attended by House and Senate leaders as well as Obama, his
Democratic rival. But the candidates left without commenting to
reporters outside, and the whole sequence of events confirmed
Treasury’s fears about inserting presidential politics into what were
already difficult negotiations.

[snip]

At the same time House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney
Frank (D-Mass.) said he feared McCain was undercutting Paulson by
appealing to conservatives in the House.

“McCain and the House Republicans are undercutting the Paulson plan,
talking about a wholly different approach,” Frank said prior to the
meeting. “This is the presidential campaign of John McCain undermining
what Hank Paulson tells us is essential for the country.”

What is it that I saw on those signs, again? "Photo Op First"?

Why the Bankruptcy Change is Important

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Thanks to Masaccio for explaining what Dick Durbin is trying to do with the bankruptcy provisions on the bailout bill. It sure sounds like it would be a pretty darned sensible way to keep people in their houses. -ew

The Bankruptcy Answer

Why are Democrats pushing to include the bankruptcy revisions in the bailout bill? Let’s see what happens to a troubled mortgage in a Chapter 13. Suppose we have a subprime mortgage. The note has an interest rate of 9%, principle of $200,000, and a 30 year term. The house cost $210,000, so there was a 5% down payment.

The family made the income level by aggregating the income of husband and wife. One loses a job, they get behind, and then they get a new job paying a lot less. They file Chapter 13. The point of the Plan is to offer a proposal to repay their creditors, including taxes, secured debt, and unsecured debt. The Bankruptcy Code dictates how much they have to contribute from their paychecks. The amount is basically the difference between their income and their allowed expenses. Both of these terms are defined in the Bankruptcy Code, and are sort of like your natural understanding, but not quite. The money goes to the Chapter 13 Trustee, who distributes it in accordance with the Plan. Read more →

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