What is Obama going to do about it? Nothing, most likely. Farm consolidation has been going on for years. This is the first link I hit upon with some historical farm population numbers: >
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Will Congress ban vertical integration of hog farming? Some states do have bans on corporate farming. Nebraska had one but it was ruled unconstitutional. I haven't heard much about it since. Some other states have fared better with their bans.
Being dumber than dirt, and talking crap doesn't rise to the level of a garden topic, Frank, but it is better than your talk of burning Mexicans that you posted in another newsgroup.
Does Chrysler and General Motors count? Are they not under the control of the Obama's "Auto Czar"?
Besides Obama Motors, I believe the banks will be next. Fire the CEO's and board members and break them up and sell the banks back to the public.
In the seventy's, Lee Iacocca stated "At Chrysler we are building twice as many cars with half as many people as in the sixties". In the late fifties GM laid off 50,000 people in the payroll department when they purchased their first computer for the payroll department.
Imagine a future world where 10 percent of the worlds population can provide for 100 percent of all goods and services through free trade and automation. What kind of economic system will one have where 90% of population will not have employment?
One answer is: It will not be capitalism! From R.E.M. - "the world as we know it is going to end and I feel fine".
and the list goes on with Obamacare taking over the insurance companies by dictating their expenses.
One of these days I expect to be taxed on growing my own vegetables and cutting my lawn because otherwise I would have to hire someone to do this and they would pay taxes ;)
Wrong again! The government like loan sharks, would not loan them money without becoming a partner in the business. Again suffer slowly or make it a quick end. It was not the auto industries fault for their demise. It was the federal governments fault for making all these unfair free trade agreements. With slave labor nations like China and many other Asian nations can produce foreign cars with lower cost and increased quality. Like Ross Perot stated during his presidential campaign "Pass NAFTA and watch the giant sucking sound of jobs leaving the United States". Free Trade lowers the living standards of all.
Why am I so invested in this? I LIVE IN MICHIGAN! One out five Jobs here are auto related. I have many friends that had a good life now destroyed by free triad policies. These policies are just now having a domino effect on the rest of the U.S. economy.
Wrong Again! Drive those cheap foreign cars and goods. Time will tell who the real victims are. Hint: The entire U.S. will be the victim.
From your postings blaming the auto executives. You sound like you are part of the ruling elite. Smoke and mirrors - take a real good look at your own core belief system.
Banks put conditions on loans, and even banks wouldn't touch these guys. Why, because they ran their bussinesses into the ground. Was that the worker's fault, no. The Assembly plants did their job, but the bean counters sent them junk to assemble. I have a 1980 Datsun pick-up, I do minimal maintenance to it, and leave it parked in the elements. It gets me where I want to go, with no frills, but more importantly, no hassel.
I don't like NAFTA, or globalization either, so you'll no argument from me there. I might point out that China, and India sell damn few cars in the US, but when they do, they'll undercut Detroit products. Maybe we should be looking at the Volkswagen/Mercedes paradigm. First world companies competing with third world labor.
Japan and Germany are the countries that are kicking our automotive butts, and they are both first world countries. I'm out of my element here but IIRC, Japan organizes it's business around where they want to be in 5 years or so, in Detroit it is what's the bottom line for next quarter. It's no way to run a railroad.
Greatest good for the greatest number, I'm good to go.
At my age? Every day.
Speaking of reading and learning.
I'm reading a book called "Creative propagation : a grower's guide" by Peter Thompson. Sometimes I wonder how I can be so stupid. When I germinate my seed, I leave the hot pad and the lights on 24/7 until germination, wrong, wrong, wrong. As Thompson points out, the plants are programed for light/dark, and warmer/cooler. The next time I germinate (herbs: probably next week) the hot pan and the lights both get connected to the timer. The other thing is plucking freshly germinated plants out of germination trays by their dicots (dicotyledons), and repotting into individual cells, instead of waiting until they are older and more established. My habit has been to take one of my germination cells, and holding the base of the plants between my thumb and my index finger, I wash the dirt off the roots, working from the bottom up, and then teasing (fussing) the plants apart. Out of 60 basil plants, I lost
Next time I'm going to experiment with plucking the freshly germinated plants.
I've finished planting my potatoes (Butter Ball, La Ratte, and French Fingerling); 45+ plants. Beets are coming up from last year's late sowing, as are onions, garlic, and shallots. Tallest of the snow peas is about 20", and they are all working their way up the trellis. I have some fresh onion starts (germinated), and lettuce that I can start laying out any time, I think. I have tomatoes about 20" tall, and some peppers outside in 4" pots (they were growing too fast under lights and started to set fruit), so I feel comfortable putting out cool season plants.
One problem is that I have 40 jalapenos that are taking up too much room. I'll be able to find homes for them eventually, but it is still too cold to give them away.
I have a made in the USA 1985 Plymouth Acclaim, An excellent little car that still serves me well and looks great and also no hassle!
Their was a time when the US did have problems. It was a period of time when the industry changed from oil-based paints to water-born paints. Oil-based paints created toxic waste and under EPA pressure to change over to the newer water-born less toxic paints. Also they switched from dunking the frames to spray painting the frames also creating less toxic waste. It took several years to perfect the paint formulas (rusting and old steel). When they got the formula right the foreign car companies started to take off after learning from the US problems. Then free trade destroyed them.
My first three Apple computers were made in California. The last two Apple computers and my iPod were made in China.
OK :)
Not true! China TODAY is the largest manufacture of cars and car parts in the world! China makes a portion of so-called US domestic cars and so-called Japanese cars and car parts sold in the US. Some Volkswagens are now made in Mexico! Few cars are made in the US today - They are assembled in the US. Parts are mostly made overseas.
Well we do have something in common after all :)
I am also reading "Creative Propagation 2nd edition, by Peter Thompson (2005). ISBN-10: 0881926817.
I will say this is the best book I have on plant propagation. Much better than American Horticultural book on propagation.
My pads and lights are on a timer 7am-7pm. Did you really keep the lights on 24/7 or just the heat pads?
On Pot washing on page 69. He seems to think it is a waste of time. I have always washed and cleaned pots with bleach to prevent transfer of diseases. He says its a waste of time, few plants are ever lost. I am all for lazy gardening techniques :)
From his book, I now have the craving for getting a plant propagation machine (hydroponics). I posted a past question last month about getting a machine, four responses, no one had one to see if its worth getting.
I have a cold frame. Now from reading his book I plan on building a heated frame as well. For now, that green house is only a dream.
Planting time is another six to eight weeks for me. I do have about sixty pepper plants (4 varieties) and 10 Brandywine Tom's in seed trays going now. In two weeks I will have several more vegetable seed tray going. Most of my vegetable seeds will be direct sowing in the ground. Some day I will try my hand at potatoes. A $1.49 per 5 lb bag of Michigan Potatoes is one reason I have not yet tried growing them. Since I do not have a green house - seed starting onions indoors - just stinks!
I do have two flats (72 cells) of each going: Wave Petunias, Petunias, Impatiens, Salvia, Snap Dragon, Coleus, Marigolds and Zinnias. I feel your pain when repotting time comes, 16 x 72 ahhhhhhh! Well to tell the truth it will be mental and physical therapy.
And as the Sun pulls away from the dock, and our boat sinks into the harbor, we say a fond farewell to NAFTA, neo-liberalism, and politics, and say, "helllooooo garden", and close the door behind us ;O)
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