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quote:
Originally posted by JWFITZ
...in what way does CNN and its advertisers profit by scaring people...
CNN, Fox, MSNBC, and all other 24/7 news organizations have evolved to the point where, if they scare you, you'll tune back in to see how whatever they wanted to scare you with is developing. Any situation, whether it's hurricane Katrina, the war in Iraq, nukes in Iran, or the cost of food in Hawaii, if they present it as dramatically as possible, as dire and Mr. Wolf-at-the-front-door as possible, then they'll get millions of viewers to tune back in to see how the situation is developing. Then they have ratings, which generate advertisers and revenues and...on and on the story goes.
Just my opinion.
Aloha! ;-)
Aloha! ;-)
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You know, when you look back to the 1970's... as someone brought up earlier... the price of gas is still less than minimum wage now and it was way over in the '70's. Relatively speaking, this is less a crisis than it was then....
Just another day in P A R A D I S E !!
I want to be the kind of woman that, when my feet
hit the floor each morning, the devil says
"Oh Crap, She's up!"
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PS, absolutely, and better yet only 3 days a week to buy any gas by the odd/even system. Plus we were all going down with Global Cooling, the Ice Age is coming.
And pollution was toxic that I remember (much lead and truly toxic). Just gasoline had a major lead conent.
And the Cold War was going to kill us all, and Rachael Carson assuring us the natural world was dead, and Paul Erlich with his population explosion theories. They were truly spooky and caused a lot of paranoia.
I bet Rachael and Paul didn't suffer with their theories, and lived quite well afterward!
Gordon J Tilley
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Gosh gtill,
Most of those people from the seventies you mention were right on the money.
The Cold War wasn't a joke. Old Russian nukes are still out there too. Loosely guarded from what I read. Rivers were actually catching on fire from the filth. Kepone, Mirex, Clordane and Dioxins were nasty poisons casually tossed about. The Bald Eagle was going extinct. Lead was in the paint in your bedroom. Population explosion is still the single biggest underlying threat to the planet. Asbestos was in the stove, ceiling tiles, floor tiles, house siding and your car.
I think your view of the 70's needs a little balance.
Assume the best and ask questions.
Punaweb moderator
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Rob, my point was just that, all was coming down, but most of it has been stopped or remedied. the smog, while still happening is not nearly as toxic, rivers have improved as have most water works, in general Nixons EPA worked.
The loose nukes are a problem, but I think strength is a better way to face them than begging.
Gordon J Tilley
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The latest food price increases are primarily due to floods in the Midwest.
Iowa, Indiana, and Illinois is where most of the corn is grown in the US. Corn prices influence the price of food more than any other commodity. Corn prices are setting new records almost everyday. High demand, weather, and speculative trading are the main factors.
Speculative trading plays a part in the higher prices. Corn is bought and sold just as stocks are. Traders increase demand and price by buying corn today to be delivered in the future. If the price goes up, they sell their corn and pocket the cash. If it goes down, they lose. This is one of those times their risk is low (unlikely to go down), so they buy more and drive price even higher.
Even tho the higher priced corn has not reached the end user and in fact may not be more when they actually buy the corn, they will raise prices in advance to cover their possible future cost.
Look for price increases in all meats and anything that has corn sweetener, like soda. Actually all foods will increase some.
It is not a crisis, but plan ahead to save money on food.
If you are interested, you can follow the corn market on the Chicago Board of Trade http://www.cbot.com
Allen
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I think that richer Asian eating more and especially more meat has a lot more to do with rising food prices than the floods in the Midwest. Prices were rising dramatically before the floods. Asians are not any where close to the amount of meat we eat and I don't think that the rising wealth of the rest of the world will stop. So, high food prices will be with us for a while until/unless production can make a big jump. Not sure if that can happen very quickly. Likewise rising petrol prices are driven by increased economic activity in Asia. While there is no less oil being produced, more people want it and can pay for it. So I think those prices will be high for while too. Alternative engergy will drive them down in the long run, but that could be quite a while.
Aloha,
Rob L
Aloha,
Rob L
RobL -
I doubt what you state about "Asians", have anything to do with the rising costs of shipping food to Hawaii.
[xx(]
*edit* I guess I'm just reading into things the wrong way tonight... my bad.
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It is the way... the way it is.
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I think RobL's comment had more to do with global food/commodities markets than shipping costs, in that context his observation has a lot of validity. The more people there are on this planet who eat meat as a staple instead of a condiment, the more grain will be grown to be fed to livestock, then more people (especially the world's poorest who don't eat much meat) will pay much more for the grains that are their subsistence food. This is a global issue that is also impacted by using food grains for fuel.
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
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Rob is correct, increased consumption world wide has had an impact on prices for meat. However feed stocks (corn) have a much larger impact. The farmer can take his corn and feed to livestock or if the price for corn is high, sell it and pocket his profit, without any additional risk.
With no feed, He sells his livestock, lowering the supply and further raising the price of meats. Takes a holiday, who can blame the guy.
Meat producers who do not grow their on feedstock, will sell off animals, because feed is too expensive to buy and feed to animals for profit. Because of life cycles, expect to see higher prices in chicken first, pork, then beef.
Not much will happen in the markets until June 30. That day the USDA issues a much anticipated crop report on projected harvest for the MidWest. Commodity markets put a lot of stock in these reports.
Some of you may remember a similar time in 1973, drought in Iowa, Indiana, and Illinois. And at the same time an oil embargo.
Resulting in high prices and some heavy duty inflation.
It is not a crisis. Being informed is good.
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