Like it or not, when our words represent us, we are judged by the “appearance” of those words. Sure, on the net you’re free to belch prose that’s unencumbered by style, just like you’re free to go to church in running shorts, a dirty t-shirt and flip-flops. Doesn’t mean you should.

Oh, and by the way, I liked this post.

Lah-de-day, one more thing for the Lean Fresh Prince to hire Wall Street to solve, or something. Let’s hope that this one rises to the top of the yellow pads for the new crew.

String theory is a favorite of mine. To think one man combined the 5 theory’s into one as they were really one in the same is brilliant. Hope the new super collide can capture the moment a graviton escapes this dimension into another so we can prove the existence of another dimension. The prospect that the energy in our dimension comes from the interaction at the point where strings contact the membrane separating our dimension from another is unbelievably exciting.

With the content of my post I was only trying to make the point that we built an overly complicated financial structure that is too top heavy and now everyone is chasing their tails to find a fix, if it can be fixed.

On the question of food my grandfather was paid ed thousands a year to not sow seed on a 200 acre farm for years. This is funny as he never intended too. Now people wonder what is wrong with food production. With that said some of the best farming land in the country is used for housing and not food production. In fact the world has now use up all available photon strike area out there for farming.

Citing studies from JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, Azrack said the actual loss rate from CMBS markets could be as high as 7% or 8%. “Not just default or foreclosure, but actual loss rates, which would be extraordinary,” he said.

“Given the number of layoffs that are going to happen once the year end comes around, along with lower pay and bonuses, a lot of businesses are going to contract,” said Patterson.

Reilly predicted that around 100,000 people could find themselves unemployed in New York City in 2009. He said that could then lead to another 200,000 to 300,000 unemployed as other businesses dependent on the financial industry begin to suffer.

Reilly also said that office vacancy rates in New York City could rise to around 12% over the next few years as new space comes online and that rents will decline. He predicted the worst time will be late 2009 into late 2010 but that a rebound might begin sometime in 2011.
http://www.globest.com/news/1283…k/175059- 1.html

>> Could someone please explain why years of rising food prices, in conjunction with the ethanol-hype, didn't induce producers to greatly expand their food production?

Actually, you've had years of falling food prices as expressed in real terms, at least at the wholesale level. Look at a long term chart of wheat here: http://www.futuresbuzz.com/wheatlt.html — the nominal price hasn’t changed in 35 years!!!!

Granted, productivity has increased greatly over this time; your yields have improved due to better use of crop inputs and more efficient harvesting techniques.

Still, farming has been a terrible business for so long now there has been little incentive to increase capacity.

What must grate farmers is that finally when prices do catch up with reality, as they did last year, folks gripe that it is they who are being screwed. Gimme a break!! I mean, to those who would complain I suggest that they go try farming for a living.

Now the credit crunch is screwing things up again, as if distorted capital flows over the last 30 years weren’t enough. Farmers can’t get credit to plant fergodsake. This in the context of near empty bins.

Question for the deflationists out there: How is the global economy supposed to pay off this debt on an empty stomach? With food riots in the village square?

Devalution. More. Faster. Please.

I have picked at this idea in many comments over the last few months. The arrogance, on all sides, simply overwhelms me at times. You (and I) know far less than we think we do. Please try to keep this in mind before posting a comment. I am not saying that we should cease trying to make things better. Au contraire. I just think we should lose the arrogance, and develop some respect for competing ideas, and maybe consider briefly (just before posting) that we may not indeed be the ultimate expert on the issue at hand.