Twilight Zone Reality

There is more than a little Taste of the Twilight Zone in the revised Numbers for the 2nd Quarter 2008. The Quarter was either Good or Bad, not a Coat of Many Colors. Readers may have forgotten that statistical modeling always includes a Degree of Error; well, the initial Numbers for the 2nd Quarter should be listed as having a Degree of Error of plus or minus 200%. This is the Political Election Season, but both Sets of Numbers for the Quarter has to be considered an Outrage. Government Economists will claim that they did not realize the quantity of Exports was so high, but do you believe that? I think We should keep Government Economists after School, and have them write this 500 times: We will not fudge the Numbers for Political Spoils!

Brazil and Argentina are taking alternate paths towards Agriculture, and I actually favor the Protectionist Argentina. Brazil assumes $49 bn of national Debt to give agri-business $40 bn of Credits, leaving only $9 for small farmers. Argentina is implementing a 35% Export tax on Soybeans. Both nations belong to the Big Three in the Export of Agricultural Products, especially Corn, Soybeans, and Meat Products. Such heavy Agriculture for Export requires huge Inputs of Fertilizer and Water, and generates extreme Food pricing in the domestic economies. The One is assuming high national debt and high domestic Food pricing to adopt farm practices which deplete native soils, the Other is utilizing their Agricultural position to pay for much of Government operations in a manner which provides some degree of Soil conservation with even distribution of Profits through all economic sectors. Almost all American Economists would hail Brazil, and condemn Argentina, yet that is exactly what I think is wrong with American Economics today.

Here is another instance where current national leadership may be acting irrationally in the name of promotion of Trade. National Accounting rules have been established to counter potential hazards already encountered in the natural course of business. International Rules of Accounting are only adopted when there is insufficient opposition by any major Party to such Rules. International Rules are always far more lenient, and less enforceable, than the highly developed National contingencies. It is all a Question of allowing the fraudulent to run Wild, and combines with preemptive acceptance of deviant Accounting which claims the Right of Acceptance. The current Administration is committed to setting all of Us on a course which will be hard to extract Ourselves from, when We run across the criminal deficiencies that are bound to occur. lgl