TresSugar

Front Page: Ban Ki-Moon in Myanmar, Oil Spikes Three Days, Farm Bill and Tax Package

CitizenSugar — Thu, 22 May 2008 07:00:48 -0700

Ban Ki-Moon in Myanmar: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has begun his tour the devastated Irrawaddy Delta in Myanmar. He is set to meet with military ruler Gen Than Shwe hoping to persuade the government to accept more aid for cyclone victims. So far the government has blocked large-scale international assistance, and foreign agencies say they are able to deliver just 30 percent of what they would like. The death toll from Cyclone Nargis is currently 78,000 dead, with another 56,000 missing. The UN says that fewer than a 25 percent of the 2.4 million people affected have received aid.

Oil Spikes Three Days: Oil cost attained a new record for highest price for a third straight day, topping $135 a barrel. OPEC producer Saudi Arabia last week said it had raised production by 300,000 barrels per day, but the news had minimal impact on the market.
Farm Bill and Tax Package: The House voted 316-to-108 to override President Bush's veto of the Farm Bill. The vote was well over the two-thirds needed. Bush said in his veto announcement, “for a year and a half, I have consistently asked that the Congress pass a good farm bill that I can sign. Regrettably, the Congress has failed to do so. At a time of high food prices and record farm income, this bill lacks program reform and fiscal discipline.” The House also passed a $54 billion tax package. The measure renews tax breaks that have expired or will expire soon and provides new tax relief in the form of child tax-credits and breaks for renewable energy.

Front Page: Army Stealing Aid in Myanmar, Bombings in Iraq and Afghanistan, Farm Bill Passes

CitizenSugar — Thu, 15 May 2008 06:59:21 -0700

Army Stealing Aid in Myanmar: Officials from several relief organizations say that the international aid being sent into Myanmar is being "stolen, diverted or warehoused" by the army. The members of the military junta told Thailand's prime minister they were in control of the relief operations and had no need for foreign experts. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon wants to send a senior UN official to inspect the relief effort in the ravaged country. To make matters worse, the US military’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said there was a possibility that “a significant tropical cyclone” - another one - would form in the next 24 hours and head across the Irrawaddy Delta, the already hardest hit region.

Bombings in Iraq and Afghanistan: In an attack claimed by the Taliban, a suicide bomber wearing a burqa detonated by a police patrol at a crowded market in western Afghanistan today, killing at least 12 people and wounding 27 others, officials said. Yesterday, at least 20 people were killed and 35 others wounded in a suicide bombing at a Sunni funeral west of Baghdad. Police said the funeral was for the head teacher of a local school. The bombings occurred hours the announcement that Prime Minister Nouri Maliki was supervising an offensive against Sunni insurgents in the northern city of Mosul.
House Passes Farm Bill: The House approved a five-year, $307 billion farm bill with a solid bipartisan majority yesterday. Despite a veto threat from President Bush, the House voted 318 to 106 - more than the two-thirds needed to override a presidential veto - with 100 Republicans joining the Democratic majority in favor.

Cheaper Groceries? How the Farm Bill Could Help

CitizenSugar — Wed, 07 May 2008 14:30:13 -0700

President Bush is in talks with Agriculture Secretary Ed Shafer over the Farm Bill, a five-year, $285 billion bill currently being considered by Congress. Bush disagrees with the proposed new $3.8 billion farm disaster program as well as new perks for the sugar industry included in the legislation. He also objects to the $10 billion in extra spending and the bill would allow over the measure’s $560 billion, 10-year baseline. Lawmakers aren't expecting Bush to till up support for the bill.

Should a presidential veto be on the shopping list, supporters in Congress have a plan to override and save the increases in food aid to poor Americans. The bill also proposes a $10.3 billion increase for food stamps and other nutrition programs - lawmakers think these programs could be piggybacked onto other, must-pass legislation.

How does a law become a grocery bill? In Time magazine this week, a teeny tiny item showed just how the bill could lower food prices and grocery costs for families. To see how, read more.

Disaster Relief: The very $3.8 billion program Bush objects to could help farmers hit by weather hurdles helping them get back on their feet and ensuring a steady supply to market.
Ethanol Subsidy Cuts: The bill aims to cut tax credits and subsidies more efficient means of biofuel production like using wood and grasses.
Food Stamps: The bill is set to increase the minimum food-stamp allowance, which has been set at $10 since 1977.
Emergency Food Assistance: Programs like food banks and pantries could get up to $100 million more in funding, increasing the number of people they can help.

Bush has said the bill is "bloated" and disagrees with payouts to multimillionaire farmers that actually do little to stem food costs. He said, "Congress can reform our farm programs - and should - by passing a fiscally responsible bill that treats our farmers fairly and does not impose new burdens on American taxpayers."

Does the problem lie in combining nutrition and hunger plans in with farm payouts? In an era where family farms are on the decline, are farm subsidies as needed? Is it prudent to protect our food supply or is our farm policy full of weeds?

Source

Food or Fighting? Is the US Spending Its Tax Money Wisely?

CitizenSugar — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 07:52:22 -0700

We're all feeling the sting of skyrocketing grocery bills - but families living at or below the poverty line are seeing their food stamps purchase less and less - and they're going hungry. About 1.3 million New Yorkers identify themselves as “food insecure,” concerned about their ability to keep themselves and their families adequately fed.

In the past year the price of what the government recommends as the minimal nutritional diet has risen 7.2 percent, with the prices of particular staples rising even more. Eggs alone have gone up 20 percent.

Food stamp allocations on the other hand, haven't changed since last fall - and won’t increase again until October.

The decrease in buying power of food stamps has been recognized in Washington - Congress passed a farm bill in May that would raise raise the minimum amount of food stamps families receive beginning this fall, passing despite President Bush’s veto.

The director of food assistance for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, says of the difference between food stamps and cost of food, “we know food stamps are falling short $34 a month [of the monthly $576 that the government says it costs a family of four to eat nutritional meals.] The sudden price increases on top of everything else like soaring fuel and health care have meant squeeze and strain that is unprecedented since the late 1970s.”

To see how the amount spent on food compares to that spent in Iraq, read more.

The food stamp relief included in the farm bill, amounts to $5.4 billion over the next ten years, including $50 million to promote community food projects, like local vegetable gardens.

Now I'm not a spending alarmist, but I do like to know the stats and how they compare. The ten year, $5.4 billion we're spending on food stamps? It amounts to just over a week spent in Iraq. Feeding people suddenly seems like a bargain.

$720,000,000 a day. Do you feel comfortable with how US tax dollars are being spent? Is this wrongly comparing apples to armor - or we all need a much bigger deal on Miracle Whip?

Source

Want Cheap Clothes? The Cotton Industry's Not 100% Fit

CitizenSugar — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 07:58:32 -0700

The global economy is about to hit your Saturday morning shopping spree. As we've seen food prices grow in response to higher crop prices, fashionistas should be ready to see their clothes prices follow suit, and it's a two-piece problem.

People watching their purse strings are causing garment makers to see a rapid decline in their own bottom line. Demand is down wildly. US cotton consumption alone is set to fall 6.5 percent from last year.

And you can partially blame the environment on the ever-spendier tee. More cotton farmers are swapping to more lucrative crops - soybeans, corn, and wheat - whose market prices are rising even faster. Why are these crops more enticing? The prices of these crops have been pushed higher by a mixture of subsidies and growing demand from biofuel producers.

It's not just shrinking cotton crops: energy, wages, the oil to transport goods, all make the shirt on your back cost more. Manufacturers, just like us, are hit by XXL oil prices, making their factories more expensive to operate which means pricier shipping to foreign markets. To see the human cost of the cotton trade, and how BBC sent six fashion-plates to work in an Indian garment factory, read more.

On Indian cotton farms, farmers facing strangling bills and held at the mercy of the global market and crop hardiness, has led the country to see more than 20,000 suicides by debt-ridden farmers in the last ten years. The numbers are rising. Currently about six farm suicides are reported daily.

BBC has made the garment trade in to reality (television) with a mini-series called Blood, Sweat, and T-shirts. Here's how they describe the show which sounds fascinating:

Six young fashion addicts experience life as factory workers in India, making clothes for the British high street. In this four-part series, the six work in the mills of India’s cotton belt and stitch clothes in cramped back rooms, sleeping next to their sewing machine. See how it changes their attitudes to cut-price clothing.

I might move abroad just to catch this show.

Have your shopping habits changed? Is it an issue of cash or global consciousness? Do you pay attention to what a garment is made of before you buy? Does it surprise you that the focus on biofuels has had such an impact on the clothing market?
Source

Colorado and Florida! Your State Legislatures at Work!

CitizenSugar — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 06:00:25 -0700

The Florida Senate just passed an amendment to impose a $60 fine on Truck Nutz the oh-so-classy novelty item that adorns vehicle trailer hitches that resemble "the dangling southern end of a northbound bull." The proposal would make displaying bull genitalia reproductions on a vehicle subject to a $60 fine, moving violations and points against a driver license.

In debate, Sen. Jim King said he had a set on one of his vehicles, describing his ride as "all pimped out." He clarified the point saying they are no more than "an expression of truckliness." He's since removed his balls at his wife's request. Perhaps more to the point, Sen. Steve Geller said of the debate, "I find it shocking we'd tell people with metallic testicles on their bumpers that this is a violation. There's got to be better things for us to spend time debating."

Not to be outdone, in the surprising things you hear in state legislatures departments, to check out what went down in Colorado, read more. In the Colorado legislature, State Rep. Douglas Bruce made a somewhat indelicate comment during debate on a bill set to allow the state to help immigrant workers get temporary federal visas. The measure is intended to ease a shortage of farm workers in the state. He said,

"I would like to have the opportunity to state at the microphone why I don't think we need 5,000 more illiterate peasants in Colorado."

The comment drew gasps from his fellow lawmakers. Rep. Bruce narrowly escaped censure for his remarks, which he creatively defended using the dictionary. Oh, and this guy has been censured before, for kicking a photographer during opening prayer.

So? Which is worse? Passing a law on jalopy genitalia or calling immigrants peasants? Or that this happens in government at all?