Where Did All the Memes Go?

I don't spend much time on Fakebook any more. When I do log on I will scroll deep through my feed to try and catch up. I have noticed a trend. 

During the previous administration there was a plethora of memes on a daily basis. Those who believed we are a sovereign nation, loved freedom, cheap gas, a booming economy, rising wages, low unemployment, and a robust military would post memes about how great the former president was doing in the job. Those who didn't like all of the above would post anti-Trump memes. All well and good. An exchange of ideas is always a good thing. 

Bio-Fuels Impact World Food Prices

Over the past few years there have been some said that bio-fuels would unnecessarily cause the price of food to skyrocket as demand for the food (grains, corn, others) would outstrip supplies (law of supply and demand). As part of this law of unintended consequences would most impact the third world as increasing cost of food would create food shortages and starvation.  Well, it seems that these predictions are starting to become true.

The NY Times has a very detailed article on the impact of increased demand on food for fuel production has had on the cost and availability of food for its primary purpose, and that is to feed people.

In places like Africa and Thailand, where there are many, many impoverished people, decreasing supplies for food is causing starvation issues.  China is currently purchasing nearly the entire cassava root crop which is used for as an important ingredient in everything from tapioca pudding and ice cream to paper and animal feed. (Source: NY Times).

Did He Mean $4.00 A Gallon Gasoline?

During his campaign, then Senator Obama said that energy prices would necessarily have to skyrocket in response to his energy policies.  Well, it looks like he is true to his word. When Obama took office, gas was below $2.00 a gallon. Two years later, it is now approaching $4.00 a gallon.  What makes this scariest is that his skyrocketing energy prices would be in response to his cap and trade program he had hoped to pass through Congress.  Cap and trade is dead, yet gas prices have nearly doubled in his first two years. Imagine what would have happened if he had been able to pass cap and trade.

I realize that when Bush was President, gas topped out above $4.00 a gallon.  That had nothing to do with policies, but rather speculators messing with the system, there was no shortage of oil at anytime during the price climb of 2007. Once the speculators were encouraged to cease and desist, gas prices plummeted.  If you look at the trend during Bush’s Presidency, prices fluctuated, often in a predictable manner (normally over the summer), but the trend remained fairly steady. Not so much with Obama. It has been a steady climb for two years with very little seasonal fluctuation.

2012 cannot come soon enough.

Weekend Links

Weekend Links: (Sources: Seattle Times, Seattle PI)

LOCAL:

1. Looking for the silver lining. The earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan, with more than 10,000 killed and thousands more still unaccounted. The near term economic devastation will be difficult to measure, but it will most likely have an impact as exports to Japan will slow due to decreased demand. Another area where the impact could be felt is in the financial sector. Japan currently holds a good sized chunk of US Treasuries and may have to sell in order to finance their rebuilding efforts.

This is where the silver lining comes in. Not the sale of US Treasuries, which could have a significantly damaging impact on our economy and our dollar. But if we are able to withstand the sell-off, in the longer run, the rebuilding of Japan could be an economic boon for the US, and especially Washington State. They will need raw materials and construction equipment. We can provide both.

2. Here is a fairly smart idea.  Mark Russell has founded a company called Zebigo and using software he and his team developed you can try to link up some headed your direction. In these days of higher gas prices, this seems like a good idea. Free-market solutions; got to love them.  (No endorsement of Zebigo is intended, I just thinks it sounds like a good idea.)

Weekend Links

Weekend Links (Sources: Seattle Times, Seattle PI)

LOCAL:

Taxes to be extended. How often do you hear about a government program that was supposed to be temporary wind up being permanent? Here in the local area, the state is looking for ways to offset a huge budget shortfall. One way to fund areas that might get the ax under budget cuts is to extend a tax on tourism that was scheduled to end in 2012. This tax was used to pay off Safeco Field, the Mariners Baseball Club’s new downtown digs. If lawmakers get their way, they will use it to expand the convention center to the tune of $600M, build and refurbish low income housing (mostly used by those employed in the hospitality industry), and the arts. The funny thing about this is that only King County (Seattle) will be effected. I covered this in a little more detail in an earlier post.

Seattle Mayor wants to shut down the Alaskan Way Viaduct. In what I would consider a pretty bold move Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn has stated he would like to see the viaduct closed in 2012, which had been an original target date. According to his spokesperson, he does not have a plan on how to handle any immediate traffic disruptions caused by an early closure.

$200 for Oil is a Recipe for Disaster

Over at Big Peace Peter Schweizer writes about the possibility of $200 a barrel for oil due to the unrest in the Middle East. This is down right scary when you think about it.  Three years ago, oil hit $145 dollars and some might consider it was part of the economic downturn that we are still facing today.  Could you imagine what would happen if oil hits $200?  We would dream of the good old days of 10% unemployment.

I have no doubt that Obama and his group of environmental wackos are dancing with joy over the prospects of $200 for oil. This would achieve two things for the "dear leader". First, it would cause the cost of energy to necessarily skyrocket, which has been one of his goals all along. Obama is one of the most liberal, left wing Presidents we have ever had (hopefully the last one of this kind), with ties to every radical environmental group out there. The goal of many of these environ-wacko groups is for us to be forced into alternative energy solutions.  $200 a barrel would be that wind that forces us in that direction.

Is Inflation Around the Corner?

The possibility of inflation in the coming months has been a little talked about item, unless you are a listener/watcher of Glenn Beck. Inflation is coming, and we are already seeing it. Gas just shot up $0.15 in the last three days in my local area. Commodity prices have been going up in recent weeks, which will impact the cost of nearly everything from the food we buy to the appliances. Milk has also gone up about $0.20 in the last several weeks.  Now it looks like clothing prices are about hit the launch button.  Clothing manufacturer are expected to increase their prices 10 to 20% in response to the increase cost of cotton and other materials used to make your favorite jeans.

Food Prices Set to Increase

In recent months Glenn Beck has been saying that we are headed for inflation in food. It looks like that is about the happen (h/t, rural revolution).

The harsh weather across the southern US and northern Mexico has done some serious damage to crops which will have an impact on our pocket book. If you like produce like peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, and asparagus, expect to pay double or triple, if you can find it.

I wonder if when OwlGore will come along and say, “I told you this global warming was going to have an impact”?