Driven by a painful mix of layoffs and rising food and fuel prices, the number of Americans receiving food stamps is projected to reach 28 million in the coming year, the highest level since the aid program began in the 1960s.
The number of recipients, who must have near-poverty incomes to qualify for benefits averaging $100 a month per family member, has fluctuated over the years along with economic conditions, eligibility rules, enlistment drives and natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, which led to a spike in the South.
But recent rises in many states appear to be resulting mainly from the economic slowdown, officials and experts say, as well as inflation in prices of basic goods that leave more families feeling pinched. Citing expected growth in unemployment, the Congressional Budget Office this month projected a continued increase in the monthly number of recipients in the next fiscal year, starting Oct. 1 — to 28 million, up from 27.8 million in 2008, and 26.5 million in 2007….
Because they spend a higher share of their incomes on basic needs like food and fuel, low-income Americans have been hit hard by soaring gasoline and heating costs and jumps in the prices of staples like milk, eggs and bread.
At the same time, average family incomes among the bottom fifth of the population have been stagnant or have declined in recent years at levels around $15,500, said Jared Bernstein, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington….
WIC has also experienced a huge surge of applicants in recent years, with working families making up the bulk of new referrals to the program nationwide. I had hoped in the aftermath of Katrina, and then after John Edwards entered the presidential race by giving his opening speech in New Orleans and following that up with so many subsequent highlights of the plight of America’s working poor that we might begin a real conversation on poverty in America. And what the Bush Administration policies have been doing to deepen the economic divide.
But I have been, sadly, disappointed.
It is up to all of us to bring poverty back to the national discussion table. Because the folks who are scrambling just to get by, working two and three jobs and trying to make ends meet that are way too far apart as it is, barely have time to work on survival, let alone lobbying the powerful to hear their rapidly diminishing voice.
In Muskegon alone in 2007, there were 1,200 foreclosures on homes.
"Each one represents a family being dislocated … and in crisis," Boezaart says.
Whenever there is economic stress in families, Kraft says, the ills of the world enter in. Domestic violence escalates. Alcoholism and the abuse of other substances increases. So does divorce, separation, abandonment.
"It’s all so interrelated," Kraft says. "When people come to us … so far in debt, they come with such a feeling of hopelessness. They’re wondering: What am I going to do? How am I going to get through this?"
Elva Walker of Muskegon remembers those days well. She was a divorced mother of five, working third shift in a factory when her kids were little, always wondering, always worried how she could make ends meet.
"I remember it came down to a choice of either feeding my kids or paying the rent some months," she says, "and I fed my kids first."…
I often tell folks who have no concept of what these people’s lives are like, day in and day out, that they should pay attention: far too many people in America are one paycheck or catastrophic illness away from homelessness, and no one is immune. And that includes far too many of the nation’s elderly whose fixed incomes are stretched beyond the breaking point between increased drug prices and increased housing, utilities and grocery costs.
As one person sinks, we all do…and we would do well to remember that we are in this together. Because "oh, that’s a shame" doesn’t exactly solve any problems, now does it? And that next person to have a problem? It could be you…
(YouTube of U2 performing "Running To Stand Still." Fit my mood this morning.)
Related posts:
- Sesame Street: Tackling Tough Economic Times Together
- FDL Book Salon Welcomes Wade Rathke, Citizen Wealth: Winning the Campaign to Save Working Families
- Benedict’s Challenging Words to Congress and the World: Aid the Poor
- The Max Tax: Baucus’ Plan Would Benefit Big Med and Shackle the Middle Class
- Health Care and Poverty: We are Failing Our Most Vulnerable
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So! How are you, Christy!
Morning Ann — doing well, but in need of some more coffee. *g* And, if the birdies don’t get more seeds in the feeder, there is about to be a revolt. How about you?
I was gone last year, and I forgot how much the birds eat in spring, much more than in the coldest weather. I’m filling the feeder twice a day right now.
So, thanks for also reminding me of those who are hungry. Time to call the food pantry and see what is needed.
Remember when we were told “a rising tide floats all boats?” Feh. They neglected to tell us that the wake from a speeding yacht swamps small boats.
Thank you for this post, Christy. Sad companion notes: as need is rising, donations to food banks are down sharply, both private and fed gov’t support.
And I heard this morning while driving errands that teen suicide numbers in Minn have been rising, now the #2 cause of death among teens.
There is way too much despair in this country, and way too many who don’t “pay attention.”
Would that everybody who gets one of the magic cure-all checks from the IRS would put 10% into human needs charity giving.
I’m working poor and have been for some time.
I call up my elected representative responsible for the mess, Areln Specter, on a near-daily basis. Casey had nothing to do with this, so I leave him alone.
I call when I’m filling up my van with gas that costs $3.30/ gallon and ask when we get that cheap oil Arlen promised us. I ask why it costs more than $300 to buy 100 gallons of fuel oil, when three short years ago that same $300.00 would fill my tank for the entire season. I ask why Bear Stearns gets a government handout and struggling Pennsylvanians do not.
My favorite is to put my son on the phone and see if I can get him to ask if it’s heat or eat.
God almighty they HATE me at Arlen Specter’s office, but not as much as I hate them,
I’m busy, but fine. It was really windy here yesterday, and when I went out for some groceries, I left my gate, which is an RV style gate, open so that I could back my car in to facilitate bringing groceries in. When I went to close the gate, it is not closing normally, and I’ve been trying to figure out what to do about it. Neither me nor any of my pets, who are my only roommates, knows how to fix a gate that no longer meets in the middle properly. Must need some screws or something.
We’ve been working on our taxes and going over charitable donations, and we’ve decided that we need to up what we are doing as well. I’m going to start trying to save a bit on groceries and then dedicate the savings to a monthly donation somewhere that it is desperately needed. It’s something small, but if everyone who was able did something small imagine how quickly that could start to add up…
Try shimming a hinge on the gate that’s low
im worried for my country…after WW2 ,the europeans decided they would never go hungry again,they dont….i worry for my country…28 million on food stamps…last week i read RICE doubled in price… i worry for my country a lot…when i make donations to food banks once a month,i donate RICE and BEANS …a complete protein source!
And this is just downright offensive…although not exactly unexpected, considering the source.
Every time I go to the grocery, I add something to their cart for the food pantry. It may be the “freebie” of a two-fer-one, or the buy $25 bucks worth and get a free [fill in the blank], or an extra can or package of a basic product. A painless way to get in the habit of giving always, so that one doesn’t have to remember to do it.
And this spring I’m planning to add veggie plantings to my front yard flowers and share those with local charity kitchens. A challenge to landscaping creativity as well as helping.
There’s so many ways we can all make a difference. If we just stop a moment to pay attention….to the need, and how easily we can each help out.
I fear there will be millions more people on the edge of poverty when the real effects of the Bush economy trickle down in the next couple years.
We generally feel impotent facing the numerous social problems created by the Bush administration. That guy sure loves to inflict pain. The trouble is collective problems must be solved through collective action. That sounds like commie talk, but it’s a fact. If I trade in my car for a bicycle it has no impact on global warming. If all of us do it (and I mean all of us, not just those that visit FDL) it’s another story.
We are so accustomed to hierarchical thinking, we do not take arms against a sea of troubles if a leader, boss or whoever tells us not to. Take the mortgage foreclosure mess. The banks bring foreclosure actions which more likely than not go unopposed when communities should use town counsels or whoever to help their citizens oppose them. The banks want to quantify their loss via a deficiency judgment with no hope of recoving from the debtor because they want a taxible event and a loss to support a tax refund claim (a backdoor bailout). Cities and towns whose real estate values will be decimated and whose neighborhoods blighted by boarded up houses should not take this sitting down. We do and we don’t discuss alternatives.
Scarecrow has a post about yesterday’s 60 Minutes interview with this German who spent five years of his life in our terror prison system, some of it hanging by his arms. It is a revolting story we can add to lots of revolting stories. They say the difference between us and France is that if France the government is afraid of the people. Here the people are afraid of the government. How might we turn that around?
Indeed.
Mr. Sunshine said Dubya probably thought it was funny to get booed by the little people…kinda like umpires get booed…’cause he’s the deciderator. And wasn’t the red carpet a nice touch.
I watch John Adams on HBO these days. It gives me hope that we can restore America again once the Bush family bastahd moves on. Oh, and, Lynne and Dick? You’re no John and Abigail….
even the cheapest food is no longer IN expensive
http://www.celsias.com/2008/03…..0-percent/
commiecommon good talkFixed. As the Founders intended.
I would like to add that people are not hungry enough to do anything to change their uneven position…and they definitly are not hungry enough to educate themselves to a level to understand the position they are in. People must feed their minds to fill their stomach.
is it wrong to be physically ,mentally,and spiritually REPULSED and gagged by his voice,image,or refrence?…..gag reflex in place
Another great and thought provoking post, Christy. And so true. I especially agree with your wish to confront poverty – and all its causes; and I too was very disappointed that the promise of Edwards’ campaign to bring attention to the poor, the working poor, the increasingly desperate working class and middle class, did not gain momentum.
These are really becoming desperate times. There is more violence. I cringe daily at headlines.
I like your approach, Christy and Prairie Sunshine, just trying to do a little more, even if it is more difficult than it used to be. One foot in front of the other, whatever you can do.
very well put..but the helpless kids who,have no choice…one of the posters on another blog talked of his students coming to school and speaking of dinners of rice with sugar….sigh
CHRISTY Marat were poor and the poor get poor
Hey let’s face it Republican Trickle Down Economics really works!
Foreclosures are driving rents through the roof…so I almost moved into the street when my rent was raised over 20%…my best friend, my dog needs $3,500.00 in surgery to walk again. I lost medical 8 years ago as the cost share was more expensive than paying. I am starting a veggie garden to avoid starvation. I have helped 8 folk get temp housing I see families working three jobs just hangin in…now all the social programs are taking hits and schools are getting creamed by the Terminator who is a one man wrecking crew in California. (Pinching girly man ass)
Please start the Impeachment…help the homeless they are the most needy the food banks are long broke and the shelters cannot handle the loads.
I like your idea. Thanks for the post Christy.
I’ve been trying to figure out if there is a way to set up a 501 C3 that could be strictly for the pay down of our national debt, only to be given as a “pay down” once there is a balanced budget effort.
Similarly, the balance budget effort needs to be something alone the lines of what was done by Tsongas and Rudman and needs the added push for policies to deal with the foreclosure rate and “new” green business etc. to stimulate job growth and reduce our country’s dependency on oil. To put together a fund that is a trump and pushes for solutions. I know the last time I mentioned Tsongas and Rudman in a thread here I was taken to task for not being a liberal but a moderate Republican. But Tsongas and Rudman did the grunt work to bring a balanced budget and not only did balance it, they eventually got to a “budget in the black” that granted our country a great deal of security- before GWB got his hands on it. A strong economy and a strong national budget means more jobs and strong national/domestic security.
I know, Disneyland thinking but hey, one has to dream these days…
(By the way, there is a government site to make tax-free payments to pay down the national debt. However, Mr. Klynn and myself will never donate to this until we are out of Iraq, investing in green technologies to become a world leader in them and create policy that aids families who are facing foreclosure…)
Rice and Beans,lentils legumes,can be a sustaining diet….try to give as much of that as you can afford.
My profession shares a fair amount of blame for this disaster. Tenured academic economists are well-paid by academic standards, and unless they screw up badly in their personal lives (child support, alimony,etc) they manage pretty well by middle class standards. Most don’t have the faintest idea what working people go through, and have intellectualized poverty as an inevitable market outcome. It pains me deeply when speaking to otherwise sensible people and friends that they have no idea at all what the working poor go through.
I obviously exempt the truly great economists like Joe Stiglitz, Paul Krugman, George Akerlof and many others. I’m speaking of the run-of-the-mill types who do most of the heavy lifting indoctrinating the young.
In the last two or three weeks:
Bathroom rug at K-Mart jumped 50% in price.
Can of Friskies jumped from about 43 cents to 63 cents.
Birdseed in 40 lb. bags went from about $14 to about $26.
K-Mart’s prices, looking around quickly, had risen to where they were no longer the cheapest store in town. The Friskies price had been climbing up from 25 cents three years ago, but never had gone up in such a high step. The birdseen increase, according to the fellow at Agway, is largely due to using land for ethanol production; he thinks the ethanol idea is stupid, and I agree.
I would like to say that I can see that this is a one-time correction, but it just looks like the future — more of the same on the way.
Yes sadlyes, the children are completely faultless…the pols in general should have many sleepless nights. God bless the children.
i raised 800dollars on line for a poodle that had breast cancer….we can all help each other,a dollar or 2 ,here and there…ASK for help..take pics and post online with your story…help is here…and there…yes i do rescue…animals are my FIRST concern,cause they are mostly last with most others
yes the ANIMALS will suffer EVEN more
There is an article in the Fresno Bee about Food Stamp rolls reaching record highs. That must be good news for the republics and especially McInsane.
Good Morning Christy and Firedogs,
fyi – LaRaza and other advocacy/NGO groups across the board report a conservative 33% of eligible families do not or are discourage to apply for benefits -
08 WH Budget reflects $78M cut to food stamp programs
WH has attempted to tighten eligibility requirements past 5 years – CBO ran the numbers on proposed tightening in 05 with 2M families losing benefits
and oh please don’t forget WH’s failed attempts at privatizing screening/eligibility – texans familiar with the Accenture debacle know what I’m talking about
yes Ethanol is total BS
ADM; supermarket to the world.
and the corollary
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Countrywide executives showered with even more money
by Chris in Paris
It never ends for the insanity and proves for the millionth time that no matter how badly you fail in corporate America, you will still be handsomely rewarded. All of the so-called pay for performance talk is nothing more than bull. Corporate America continues to slash benefits not to mention trash jobs for employees but they always take care of themselves.
Worse still is that Bank of America will receive massive tax write-offs for buying the lousy company so BoA will get a nice free ride too boot. Best business environment money can buy. No wonder the US economy has been growing at a slower pace than Europe during the Bush years. It’s just like a stinking third world country any more.
Thanks for the suggestion. It sounds right. I have a son in town and I’m hoping he can come by and look at it sometime this week, but he said last night when I called him that he’s been working 70 hours/per week. He hopes to have some time later in the week, and I’m pretty sure he can do what you suggest. The gate is too heavy for me to deal with. So far I’ve tied it up with some (skinny) rope. I’m beginning to hate RV gates, but it’s the only way I can park my car in back, where it’s actually meant to be.
my next door neigbor,informed me ,he would have to sell his angus…about 150 head hay prices are through the roof …the DROUGHT has made things MUCH worse!!! im sad today
but here is the problem progressives just do not get yet;
the bush administration and the entire pnac are federalists, they believe in robber baron economy
this is a fact, this is not speculation, their very programs are in fact designed to shrink the middle class, grow the lower class, and give as much as possible of these assets to the elite class that has so much money they can never possibly spend it
this is their very goal, it’s not to acquire wealth, their goal is to create the great divide
they do not care that middle class economic strategy gives them more wealth then middle class economic strategy, all that they care about is that they are that much more wealthy then the average person
this my friends is something the progressives have to recognize and address
that this is their very plan, to impoverish the middle class and make the upper class more exclusive.
their plan worked under Reagan, worked under bush’s father, was given a set back by Clinton and now has worked more then any other president under bushboy
so to state this more clearly;
their economic strategy is an unqualified success, it is achieving more of it’s goal then they could have possibly imagined
Yes, and don’t forget the SCHIP loveliness as well. Heaven forbid we do preventative screening and healthcare to keep costs down later for everyone and all…
What progressives are you talking to that don’t understand that?
you are so very right,and they are spending our SS dollars on God knows what
not only does it prevent costs later,it screens for COMMUNICABLE diseases,you think they could wrap their tiny minds around that?
no sadlyyes, it’s not.
ethanol in it’s current manifestation might be bullshit but that’s because we are not harvesting hemp and other positive return sources
it is also because you are not considering the price we will pay for war to maintain a petrolieum based economy and our petroleum based national security
no, ethonal is not bullshit, it is our future, it will make the heartland of america wealthy and all we need to do is make sure big business stays out of the game
oops, my bad
I am of course talking about those democrats that do not read here at the lake
sorry, off to work
i really meant,there are much better alternatives that dont use as much land ,and energy
I believe that it’s called pulling yourself up by your jockstrap. The post right below it caught my eye as signs of a complete meltdown coming. http://atrios.blogspot.com/200…..2055907021
Offering bonds at credit card intrest rates and getting no takers.
Current ethanol production IS counterproductive. However, a new technology for ethanol, which allows for ethanol production from native grass (not the smoking type folks) is workable without impact on food prices. The grasses can be seeded on highway median strips and just about anywhere without an effect on food prices. Individuals could even seed their properties and donate their grass cuttings for ethanol production as an effort similar to the WWII war effort of individuals saving grease and metal for war production.
For right now, ethanol is not helpful. With native grass, highway maintenance will actually pay back the tax payer as those grass clippings get turned into fuel. The technology is just about ready to go.
That one was a frightening eye opener, wasn’t it? Very skittish financing for everyone at the moment, being driven by an increasing level of panic on a whole host of fronts at once. I have this impending hurricane feeling and I haven’t been able to shake it…
They are spending our social security dollars on the war in Iraq.
it’s not just the bush administration and pnac.
whether it was the goal or not, the neoliberal economic policies of the clinton administration (see imf, wto) create the same outcome of creating and widening the divide.
think we could some peeps to work with good benefits and a living wage to do this work,or should we send them to EYERAK? ask McSame
Holy crap. Things look worse and worse with each passing day.
I’m right there with you looking down into the abyss of what’s coming in the financial markets.
Small point, the bonds are specific to one company who got caught in the mortgage mess. Bonds in general are weak but still selling.
but “the smoking type” is the best return and there is no reason on the planet it is not harvested
because,the safety net,is not safe,anymore,on all fronts
Bush worked very hard to be born wealthy and has no sympathy for those who wouldn’t put in the same effort.
Reminder to pups to check your bank accounts. They are not all FDIC-insured.
Lot of banks switched people over to money market accounts, for which you will not be bailed out by the government if there is a crash.
I’m not sure I can agree, while I do agree clinton did not re establish the programs we need, I do see his strategy has having lifted all economic groups, this including the lower class, it included the middle class and lowe and behold, it included the upper class
I am not saying his strategy is correct for every economic phase, but none is, there must always be a pendulum that swings the economy, experimenting and perfecting the programs that lift each and every one of us
and he still is less than zero,that in itself is totally remarkable imo
I think he gets that from his momma…
After having one brother serve over 4 years in Iraq and just losing one two weeks ago, my HOPE would be for jobs to be HERE.
Buck up, bigbrother, you may not see it yet, but the very rich are about to have their own policy bite them in their ass. Didn’t you catch the part in Obama’s speech where he characterized things like what happened to Bear Stearns investors–”pain trickled up.” I’ve been waiting to see what happens when the bottom classes can no longer afford to buy stuff, like mortgages, or vacations, or whatever, and so the rich’s markets dry up. I think it’s time has come. You may start to see some serious reactions. They’ll be scuffling to get some corporate welfare to keep their own boats afloat. Then they’ll find out they’re in the same boat with the rest of us.
By the way, I don’t see how anyone talks about the economy anymore without talking about climate change. That’s going to be the economic way out of the mess the Bush administration has made. Think of all those new industries when we finally set our minds to deal with our problems in constructive ways.
perris must earn a bit today, will see all later.
I have a jones for the lake, I need more cowbell
my parents lived through the great depression,my mom was a have more,my dad dirt poor…he never forgot the deprivation,NEVER,even after he was a very successful MD
i think that is what we all pray for…WE MUST ACHIEVE this now!
Don’t know what your gate looks like, but try jacking it up and banging in some sort of metal shim with a hammer. If the gates are too close together there may not be room. You’re an FDL lady. You can do it!
and VERY sorry for your loss!
my dad is a depression baby and I am taking care of him now, not in the literal sense, I just don’t want him to be alone
but he has reverted to his childhood, he collects the jellies and then butter at then diners, he collects napkins and he always takes some of our meal with him for tomorrow
mind you, he is a pretty wealthy man, yet he has reverted to his childhood
Thank you Christy for keeping this dialogue & brainstorming of ideas to combat poverty going. I too have felt so disappointed. And one of the main reasons that I supported Edwards (besides his opposition to war) was his fight on poverty.
Most days I am so overwhelmed by the mess Bushies’ policies & crimes have caused us — it almost seems impossible to combat them all. Yet, I know this fight on poverty is needed more now than ever. I’m always trying to pick and choose wisely how I donate my money or resources to help others and in turn all of us.
This past week I’ve been gathering nice goods and clothes to donate since it’s been a few months since I’ve given. Now I’m going to pack up some goods for the food bank too. Thanks for the reminder everyone!
clinton actually had competent people in his administration – so very different than what we have now. and the internet bubble was at least based on a new (and useful) technology. the same can not be said of a housing or commodities bubble.
but as far as i can tell, the outcomes are very similar – just more competently managed under clinton which means that the number of winners is expected to be larger. but there’s a very good reason that the anti-corporate globalization movement mobilized during the clinton years.
christy–when i was at my parents’ in february, their neighbors two doors over were moving. three young children. parents in their thirties.
foreclosure.
mom just emailed me, the neighbor next door moved while she was out of town, foreclosure.
he’s my age, 49, we went to high school together.
if anyone knows someone 90 days behind, or knows that they will be behind in their payments,
the number for the program set-up by the secretary of the treasury is-
1-888-995-hope
you deal with one person, they handle your case.
i wish i would have known they had foreclosure looming, i would have given them the number to call.
too late now.
i guess people get ashamed, which isn’t right, how can anyone help if you don’t say you need it?
i’m going to miss them all, they have all lived in the neighborhood for years. everyone on that street has, their part was a little oasis on the circle part of a street. not anymore.
two empty houses.
being dirt poor is unforgettable,he sounds like a neat guy all in all
and bless you
Thank you.
Perris,
My parents split meals because they do not know if tomorrow their retirement benefits will be gone and yet, they worked to make sure they had financial security in retirement.
I know they see the “signs” of their childhood.
i talked to the farmer,and he was too ashamed too.id like to help him annonymously
Think the Republics will use this as a campaign issue against the Democratic Congress?
And the CEO of Cross Country Mortgage walks away with $19 Million for destroying the company, putting hundreds of its workers out of work, and worst of all – contributing to the financial ruin of thousands upon thousands of Americans who trusted that their mortgage was their entre’ into affordable home ownership.
Nineteem million dollars for destroying a company and the dreams of so many Americans.
$19M
And Working Class families have to struggle so very hard just to survive.
Something is seriously wrong in this country.
I do believe the globalization clinton had in mind is not what came about from his policies
this is the thing selise, we MUST always experiment but then we MUST adjust
clinton was expecting more regulation, more monitoring of and adjustment of what the trade policy produced
in hindsight, of course that was a rediculous notion, the idea that the next administration would keep an eye on the effects of policy and add the regulations that were needed to make it a success
please do not equate the lack of regulatory adjustment to new principles as indicating those priniciples are failed, they are only failed becuase they have not been adjusted as all principles must
anyway, i better go, lest I pay bills not this week
Globaly maybe, but not until something is done about labor arbitage. A couple of years ago the guy who owns Cypress Semiconduter decided to get into solar cells in a big way. The problem was that he never even considered doing the manufacturing in the US. It went to the Phillipines.
My one question was going to be are you talking about a balanced budget that also includes the ongoing cost of Iraq? Because I think Dems are going to have to insist that Iraq comes off the credit card and goes on the budget. I agree thoroughly with you on the new industries to make us more green as being a big boon to our economy just at the time we need it most. And I won’t be taking anyone to task for not being liberal enough. I consider myself liberal, but I also understand the need to integrate some conservative viewpoints in that because we have a democracy and they are a part of it. There has to be compromise or nothing will get done. You see what happened during the last 7 years when the conservatives got whatever they wanted and they ruined us all. I’d be satisfied to get most of what we want but with less sniping and infighting. Hopefully we can win by convincing and showing them the error of their ways, and asking them how they liked the results of the policies that they inflicted on all of us.
Poor women don’t get a MAMOGRAM!
That is stepping across a dollar to pick up a dime.
The cost to treat matastazed cancer is 10 times all the free mamo grams needed. Preventative medicine saves lives, money and pain. No thinking out of the box for thiese IDs unless for bailing out their gambling addicted investment bank for $30 fucking Billon Taxpayer Dollars…there is some compassionate conservatism for you Russ Limburger cheese fucking head. These shitballs need to be frog walked down the House floor and housed in the basement prison. Pieces of shit the neocan scum. GRRRR (grizzly grrrr them are scarry)
Noticed 4 new For Sale signs on 2-flats walking to the train this AM in NW-side Chicago.
Income properties are selling at bargain rates.
These folks may not be facing forclosure, but alot of them purchase these properties as the only way to own in a better neighborhood. Essentially, the entire enighborhood loses when they cease to be owner-occupied.
Bad sign to see this in a historically ’stable’ neighborhood.
Hi everyone,
Scientific American did an article in January on switch grass ethanol production saying it is capable of deliver[ing] 540 percent of the energy used to produce it.
Of course this still may leave land use issues. I haven’t seen any articles that address that specifically associated with switch grass.
we will bail out WALL STREET to the tune of a TRILLION dollars (many zeros),but not individual american people…why are people not rioting,like in ITaly…ive always loved Italy!
very good point. comes, at least in part, from a culture that conflates financial success with other more important forms of success.
you sir and i think alike “g”
man, I need more cowbell, but I am turning this laptop off NOW, I prmise
christy says-” Fit my mood this morning.)”
this one fit mine last night, and today. bonnie raitt singing mose allison’s ’everybody’s cryin’ mercy’.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=eLd…..re=related
i want to scream. just scream. like a little kid throwing a tantrum. full out. ’till i’m exhausted. then eat a snack and take a nap. wake up feeling renewed.
so, think i’ll send more letters……maybe congress needs a few more facts today.
Holy Joe said Sunday that among the three presidential candidates, McCain comes closest to reflecting the legacy of John F. Kennedy.
What?
but there was a regulatory adjustment – see chapter 11 of nafta. the adjustment was towards the rights of corporations and away from the rights of people and communities and democratic institutions. all of this was known at the time by the people who were paying attention (i, alas, was not one of them).
hahahahahahahhaha
now that is rich,i want some of what he is smoking…hahahhahahhaha
i meant to say–at my 86
maybe congress needs a few more facts about what is happening in my parents’ neighborhood today.
while i play everybody’s cryin’ mercy over and over and over again.
Bom dia, pups. I hope all is well with you all this morning. I haven’t read all the comments yet so this may have already been mentioned but the number of folks in Ohio on food stamps comes out to roughly 10% of the state population. Sign of more to conme, I’m sure
i must have Italian blood….we need to take to the streets imo
http://www.parapundit.com/archives/005093.html
I await Christy’s take on the admin’s fabulous “shakeup” of government oversight of the bankng and financial businesses.
It’s a plan endorsed by Harvey L. Pitt. The overhaul, if allowed to, will be as effective in providing improved oversight and regulation of the financial industry as “Clear Skies” is in reducing air pollution.
A pox on their houses…
Can we impeach them now?
ITMFA
sadly at 73–yep, i’ve done that…….never regretted it.
I found that hilarious. It seems to me that the more conservative these wacko become, the more they try to associate themselves and their friends with Harry Truman, JFK, or even FDR. At least when talking to the general public. When talking to strictly conservative audiences, it seems they’re all St. Ronnie Raygun.
I’m just sayin…..
Prairie grasses and plants can be mowed and used for ethanol; better production than corn, and don’t require nearly as much water and fertilizer. Corn is a water hog.
im thinking through his church,i asked him to call his reps he said, no
so im thinking ,what to do,but looks like he sold some already ,heard looks 1/2 gone
it will cost 90 dollars a day…i calculate
gas at $3.30/gal sounds really good from here – I’m in LA, and yesterday I paid $3.62/gal for the lowest grade. Fortunately I saw the handwriting on gas prices and got a fuel-efficient car – but I drive mostly on weekends.
ok must leave all you VERY fine people
My husband says that if the economy goes that smash, he doesn’t think the FDIC will even come through….dire words.
I still like Ian Welsh’s advice to take care of the people around you and nurture relationships. We may need each other very much.
If you’re spending a little time surfing the web or like playing little vocabulary building games, try the Free Rice website. For every right answer, they donate rice to the UN. It’s all paid for by online advertising, similar to the ads here.
Cheryl and I drove down to Primm from Vegas Saturday night to see a Kenny Loggins concert, 66 miles. at $3.55 a gallon here, that put an extra ten bucks on the evening.
Note that Vietnam and India are cutting/holding their exports of rice. Wheat products are up 1/3 in my local grocery…and the Upper Midwest is called “the breadbasket of the world….”
When basic food products go up like this, major trouble.
You and Perris and so many billions of folks on the planet will never get over the trauma of grinding poverty, Slavery and Prejudice leave lasting scars and pain I hate it and people like Bushes don’t get it they are callous. Wonder why the people of the depression did not strike back on the perpertrators? Our soldiers demean the Irkis by calling them Hajis. What is it with Americans and their attachment to superiority…elevate yourself by putting someone elsedown. That is so weak.
((((klynn))))
((((goodguyperris))))”I just don’t want him to be alone” most powerful thing you have ever said.
I don’t know enough about ethanol to know if it’s total BS, but I do know that I was surprised when I went through my (total immersion) gardening phase that corn takes up so much space and nurturing just to get one ear from each stalk. A tomato plant, for example, can produce and reproduce enough tomatoes to last an entire season and then some considering they can be canned and last for most of a year. But corn needs about 3 square feet of space (recommended, if not necessarily practiced) for just one ear of corn. Yet we use corn for animal feed, for ethanol, and for human food. There has got to be a better way. Don’t animals like beans? Are beans too gassy for them? Surely there are better ways to use the land!
And, of course, we gotta seemingly now put our entire corn crop into ethanol (at a net BTU loss), which is already ripplingly through the rest of food commodity prices.
sadly at 98–
wow, that’s a lot. hmmmmmmmmmmm.
Christy,
I am a teacher and I live in Muskegon. I have for most of my life. I know Susan Harris and have for a long time. (She is a decent reporter and writer for the Muskegon Chronicle)
I have been trying to explain these problems to people for years. But people really do not want to listen. When the monied gentry in this country decided to give away all of the factory jobs because they “wanted to” I guess, they never considered that there were a lot of good people who depended on these jobs for their lives. They reasoned that there would always be jobs to replace them. They were wrong.
So as time passes more and more jobs have left. Factories have closed. If it wasn’t for the prisons (we have three of them now providing good jobs and good wages for people) Muskegon might even be a ghost town. And that is a damned shame. This is one of the most beautiful places you can imagine. We are situated between three lakes and on Lake Michigan. Bear Lake is to the North, Mona Lake is to the South and the city is located on Muskegon Lake. We have twenty miles of public beaches that rated among the best the world.
But we need jobs.
Muskegon in winter http://img.photobucket.com/alb…..ganic2.jpg
http://www.boatsmart.net/book/…..Harbor.jpg
(((Kynn and family)))
hi DWD…i spoke of your kids in #21
Bien Sur For sure Please do and be quick about it too.
Oh Yes the whole complicit crooked crew. They are all so rotten and imoral.
This morning Krugman declared it a complete fraud! If you Impeach them I get to frog walk Bush he ain’t goin ‘quietly into the dark night’
That seems to be what Barney Frank thinks, too.
well, that’s the problem, you need grownups making these adjustments not corporatist thieves
kevinp–thanks for yet another fine link freerice.com
just did it, and will keep the window open to do it every time i’m one the computer.
i learned a new word! got it right when i guessed. then, i thought, it’s for rice, do you cheat and look it up?
hmmmmmm
dakine used to post a site that helped people, can’t find it–dakine-if you’re here, what is it?
Hi dmac,
Yeah, it’s kinda fun. p pup III, my youngest has a blog entry advertising it, so our whole extended family now plays it.
The Frank legislative proposal looks very good and could help smooth out a lot of bumps in our recovery from the Housing crisis.
I think it will take more than that, but his is a neatly focused and well thought out plan for one part of the problem.
Sorry I am late to this thread. Good morning everyone. Morning Christy.
Right on, Perris! From AEI to many other think tanks their basic fundamental is “elite rule”. For decades they have been systematically replacing every institution with their transfer of wealth to a few. Does anyone know of any appointed people to key positions on the economy that are not “elite rule”. Let me know.
I’m sure many of you listened to Paulson’s 212 page revision of the Federal Reserve. Christy, can we have a thread on this later today. It is overwhelming so perhaps we can do it in sections.
Here is what I would like us to look into:
1. The Federal Reserve is given new power as a “market stability regulator.” In addition to governing monetary policy and overseeing banks, the Fed would have authority to investigate financial management practices across a number of industries to see whether they pose a broader risk to the economy.
2. The Fed would have the authority to go wherever in the system it thinks it needs to go for a deeper look.
3. Other changes would include merging the Securities and Exchange Commission with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
well, that gets a little difficult when the party elite (of both parties) push for this kind of thing.
i just don’t think we have to give the clinton administration a pass, because the bush administration is so much worse.
I worked at a non-profit in the mid nineties focusing on economic development.
One of the most interesting things I learned was how the rise of dual-income families hid the fact our economy was placing an ever increasing burden on the family budget.
It is now a rarity when either person doesn’t work in a two-adult household.
Once that trend ran its course, home price appreciation and the equity it created became the new cash cow to keep the economy going. Part of what fueled this was participants with no ’skin’ in the game; most mortgage brokers (and increasingly banks) were paid in full at closing — therefore they couldn’t care less if you were still in the house a month later.
I bring this up because the two mega trends that bailed the economy out over the last 30 years have dried up; everyone that can work is working, and housing prices aren’t coming back enough to become your piggy bank again anytime soon.
Indeed, if we could begin to see housing prices level off somewhat it would be cause for celebration.
Add to this the devastating loss of thousands of jobs in manufacturing and the benefits that went away with them.
We’re in for a world of hurt.
found it-filed under health, need new categories
i’m pretty sure this is the one dakine posts–click on things, pays for things for people
http://www.thehungersite.com/c…..me_sitenav
Interesting song pic. Bono has said it is a song about addiction, the Seven Towers being a
reference to the Ballymun area in Dublin (like the projects in the states).
among the lyric comment section seen here
and
A friend of mine who is deeply into quantum physics talks a lot about how we all have a part in creating the current situation. Think about it. ‘Bombing the bejeebus’ out of people, shock and peddling of teh awful, creating conditions that are prohibitive for others to carry their own (as long as you’ve got yours). It’s amazing how people can practice overblown superego machinations that open the justify the id to do whatever it pleases, then kvetch about mind-numbing drag and burden.
Thing about economy is, you can relish the ephemeral cotton candy of schadenfreude and stuckness, you can eat high on the hog and with pollutant pig shite and hormones as collaterals, or you can settle in on red beans and rice, with enough to go around. It’s always fascinated me the part about the value of the dollar being equated to the number of hands it can pass through & retain its worth.
This is all a part of dynamic and punctuated equilibrium, oscillative processes and all — until we find a currency that is of real value. I believe we will get through it, however different things look when the dust settles.
What’s the incentive for boards of directors to offer big payouts for CEOs who haven’t performed well? Is it arranged before the CEO begins his term?
The incentives and pay need to reflect performance for the long-haul (which these days might mean 6 months, but should mean at least 5 years).
As I have been trying to point out repeatedly, Paulson’s plan does not involve regulation of investment banks, hedge funds, or derivatives so there is nothing there to keep what happened from happening again. Paulson’s real agenda is threefold: Reassure markets by acting like he is doing something; pre-empt any attempt at real regulation; kick the mess down the road and let a Democratic President have to deal with it.
Al Gore suggested a lock-box (metaphoric of course) to keep SS funds separate from the general fund. We still need that, so legislators will have to look more clearly at the general fund budget and how out of whack it is.
That link is for the Breast Cancer Site but it is one of six “Do Good Sites” all linked together at The Hunger Site. All ya gotta do is click the big button then from the Thank You page, click the next tab in line across the top. The Yellow is for The Hunger Site, Pink for the Breast Cancer Site, Blue for Child Health Site, Red for Literacy Site, Green for Rainforest Preservation Site, and Purple for Animal Rescue Site. Folks can also do shopping at the various sites to raise even more funds.
What, specifically, is causing the higher food prices? Is it transportation costs or something else?
I still say we need a war-time oil industry windfall profits tax to knock the speculators out of this high-pricing jag. Even if oil prices will be “high” there is no reason we should have to suffer irrational pricing nonsense.
We obviously haven’t yet done that, but are you saying that it’s the speculation on that which is helping to drive food prices? Clearly that can’t continue and, like a fever, will break when it’s painfully obvious ethanol using food grains isn’t going to work (economically, if not energy wise).
Rising costs have numerous factors…weak dollar makes export of commodities more lucrative. Transportation costs are a factor–higher global demand for diesel drives that up. Speculation in financial markets, I’ve heard, as investors jump around among various things so that there’s a built-in greed factor to things like the cost of oil.
I’m no economist, someone else can likely answer this much better.
America needs productive Jobs, jobs, jobs that pay decent wages…priority that employees are an asset, not an expense, would be a nice idea. Someone who said earlier that it’s finally starting to trickle up that the economy is screwed is right.
Thanks, Hugh! Paulson’s replacement word for no regulation (business as usual) is creative. He doesn’t want to hinder creative and new business practices. He further says it is vital to the economy. Yeah, for the same few.
We really need a thread on this subject. It is being touted as the biggest revamping of the Federal Reserve since the Depression.
and already seeing pushback. The regs already exist…they were not enforced by the Fed, per a certain chair of Senate Banking Committee of FDL acquaintance.
We need to remember the framing over and over and over again.
This isn’t “the government”—it is neoconomics as promulgated by the Bush Administration and the Republican philosophy-controlled Fed.
Let us never unwittingly spread phony predicates no more forever.
oh, and average major league baseball ticket prices up 10%. While we build their stadia.
Ann,
Good question on Iraq budget. I think you are correct, it will HAVE to come off the credit card, but I do think that has to happen along with withdrawing from Iraq. Either way, we need to make sure the next generations are not paying for this war into their retirement.
Kevinp-
Thanks for linking to the switch grass article. I was going to link to a USDA article about it. Your link is great! Thanks.
JimC and dmac…thanks for your kind expressions.
Jobs are a relic of bygone days when there was enough work to go around. Now that things are global, it is obvious there never can be enough jobs for everyone who needs one. This is true even if you believe technology creates jobs. Automobiles created more jobs than horse and buggys, but even if we get behind waterless toilets, salt water desalinization and non-petroleum based energy, it is unlikely we will create enough jobs. Our need for jobs created the military-industrial complex as well as our war on drugs and our war on Iraq. Our need for jobs creates pollution. We don’t generally build things to last because replacements create jobs and we try to make disposable everything. Even garbage removal is someone’s livlihood.
Also most jobs are work, that is we would not choose to do them if we didn’t have to. Under capitalism a great many jobs are involved with who owns what. We make meters of all sorts, cash registers and there are accountants and lawyers, lilys of the field who do nothing productive.
My point is our problems are systemic and cannot be solved without changing the system. I believe utopia, a classless society, is the way to go. Utopia gets by with as few jobs as possible, the opposite of capitalism. If you see utopia as preposterous, you might ask yourself why you do.
Well, thanks for noticing that some of us out here are holding down two jobs. If any of you with your good educations and free time can persuade others to find poverty objectionable, you will have my gratitude.
Personally I despair of it.
There is one good thing to say about the social isolation that comes with poverty. The opportunities to read more, to see more amazing films, has been a revelation. At this point, even if I had more free time, I would rather spend it reading Shakespeare’s historical plays than hanging out with my well-heeled, sub-literate relations and former friends. Who knew?
Here’s a thought folks. Cut and paste this little snippet from Greenspan and send it to Senator Dodd. Then ask the good Senator where this country went so wrong? Perhaps if enough of us rasie a stink, someone might just listen. It is long past time that the private banking cartel known as The Federal Reserve be retired.
You can reach senator Dodd here:
http://dodd.senate.gov/index.p…..;ca…
“In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation. There is no safe store of value. If there were, the government would have to make its holding illegal, as was done in the case of gold. If everyone decided, for example, to convert all their bank deposits to silver or copper or any other good, and thereafter declined to accept checks as payment for goods, bank deposits would lose their purchasing power and government-created bank credit would be worthless as a claim on goods. The financial policy of the welfare state requires that there be no way for the owners of wealth to protect themselves.
This is the shabby secret of the welfare statists’ tirades against gold. Deficit spending is simply a scheme for the confiscation of wealth. Gold stands in the way of this insidious process. It stands as a protector of property rights. If one grasps this, one has no difficulty in understanding the statists’ antagonism toward the gold standard.”
– “Gold and Economic Freedom” – 1966 by Dr. Alan Greenspan
That’s what bothers me in these national debates, it’s all about the middle class. How about the vast working class?