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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lane3 who wrote (59320)	4/15/2008 7:29:52 AM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 542149

I came upon the potato article while tracking down this bit from McCain that I found on the UHC thread. My main interest in it is the evolving usage of the word, "wealthy." We're talking about an income of $84K here. That's not adjusted gross. It includes non-taxable income. It's interesting that we have come to the point that any senior with enough income to just cover the cost of a decent nursing home should he end up with years in Alzheimer's oblivion is considered wealthy. If you don't need to enroll in Medicaid to cover your nursing home, you're wealthy. Perhaps the middle class hasn't eroded but merely been defined away. McCain would hike drug costs for wealthy Americans Mon Apr 14, 2008 7:51pm EDT By Steve Holland PITTSBURGH, April 14 (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain will outline economic proposals on Tuesday that would increase drug costs for wealthy seniors and freeze billions in government spending for a year. McCain economic advisers told reporters in a conference call on Monday that the Arizona senator will make the proposals in a major economic speech in Pittsburgh that will emphasize a conservative point of view toward repairing the U.S. economy. In Washington, McCain said he believes the economy is in a recession, and regardless of the technical term, many Americans are hurting. McCain, accused by his Democratic rivals of lacking a strong understanding of the economy, will give what economic adviser Doug Holtz-Eakin called a "big and ambitious" speech that will touch on taxes, spending, trade, health care, education and energy issues. Holtz-Eakin and another economic adviser, Carly Fiorina, former chief of Hewlett-Packard, said McCain will propose reducing spending in the federal government's Medicare prescription drug program. He would require older couples making $160,000 to pay higher premiums for the benefit if they are enrolled in the program. Many conservative Republicans have criticized the drug program, a product of the Bush administration, as too large a benefit and believe it should be scaled back. Holtz-Eakin said the plan would save billions of dollars that could be returned to taxpayers or put to a better use. McCain will also call for a one-year freeze in many areas of the federal government -- but not the U.S. military and veterans benefits and pension programs for the poor and elderly -- in order to conduct a review of every federal program, department and agency to determine if it is needed, Fiorina said. This is part of McCain's effort to restrain government spending, a frequent topic for him on the campaign trail. He will repeat his vow that, if elected in November over either Democrat Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, he would veto any legislation that includes what he considers wasteful spending projects. McCain would require that the results of every review of the various parts of the federal government be posted on the Internet. McCain will also charge his Democratic opponents with preparing to raise taxes on virtually all Americans with their ambitious spending proposals. Fiorina said McCain will also lay out some ideas on helping wean America's dependence on foreign oil. He will repeat a pledge from last week that if elected, he would order the federal government to stop putting oil into a depository known as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve because he believes purchasing the oil contributes to higher pump prices, Fiorina said. © Reuters 2007.

To: Lane3 who wrote (59320)	4/15/2008 7:37:23 AM
From: epicure	Respond to of 542149

fascinating although "let them eat potatoes" doesn't work very well but still what an interesting article

To: Lane3 who wrote (59320)	4/15/2008 2:16:01 PM
From: Cogito	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 542149

Karen - It's the International Year of the Potato? Who knew? I love potatoes. And potato bread. I must say, though, that when they're not smothered in butter, they're not as good, except for Yukon Gold potatoes, which taste buttery all on their own. Mmmmm. You can make vodka from them, too. - Allen

To: Lane3 who wrote (59320)	4/15/2008 3:02:06 PM
From: Katelew	Respond to of 542149

Interesting article, Lane. From reading it, I have to wonder if the lowly yam, or sweet potato, might also gain some status in the food inflation battles. Yams are not only more nutritious in many ways than potatoes, they thrive in poor soil. In fact, more than just a light dose of fertilization will diminish their growth and productivity, I've been told. From an investment angle, I've been following and trading many of the agri related stocks for about a year.....specifically Potash Co., the Canadian fertilizer company and one of the equipment cos. While grateful for the returns these stocks have generated, the increases in fertilizer costs are excessive, IMO. There is evidence of significant market manipulation going on relative to food costs, too, in spite of the fundamental reasons being touted. When this inflationary and barbaric food price spiral is eventually investigated, I think we'll see much of the same sorry, greedy capitalist and speculative forces were at play as has happened at other times in the history of both hard and soft commodities. It's very sad.