ray o'hara
2005-09-02 00:55:14 UTC
can we afford the war and the cleanup rebuild cost?
from a news piece by neil irwin
New Orleans is underwater, and its future is uncertain -- as is that of the
$49 billion in goods, 60 percent of U.S. grain exports, and 26 percent of
the nation's natural gas supply and crude oil that flow through nearby ports
each year.
"The Mississippi River is the aorta of the American economy, and New Orleans
is the access point to it," said Al DeLattre, a supply-chain specialist with
consulting firm Accenture Ltd.
The damage might even be felt at the breakfast table. New Orleans warehouses
hold about a quarter of the nation's raw coffee, 211 million pounds.
Concerns that importers will have difficulty rerouting coffee shipments and
that large amounts of inventory have been lost pushed the price of coffee
for December delivery up to $1.01 a pound yesterday on the New York Board of
Trade, an increase of more than 3 cents, after gains Monday and Tuesday.
The sugar Americans add to their coffee could get more expensive too;
Department of Agriculture officials are sufficiently concerned about tight
sugar supplies because of Katrina that they raised import quotas on refined
sugar on Tuesday.
Exporters of U.S. goods, especially farmers in the Midwest, may have the
most to lose if New Orleans area ports are out of service for a prolonged
period. The harvest is just beginning -- the time when grain and other major
commodities for export are carried by barge down the Mississippi River, then
deposited in cargo ships to be carried overseas.
Exporters of manufactured goods might simply reroute and ship goods out of
Houston or Tampa. Agricultural exporters have fewer options in shipping
corn, wheat or soybeans. Moving the crops by train might cost up to five
times as much, and even then, other ports often lack the specialized
warehouses and equipment needed to handle the crops. If it takes more than a
few weeks to fix the ports, a glut of grain and widespread spoilage could
yield a disastrous season for farmers.
"If this is a week-long problem, it's probably not too damaging," said J.B.
Penn, undersecretary of agriculture for farm and foreign agricultural
services. "But if it's much longer, then it's a real problem."
back to my bitchin.
it will take more than a week. i think we all realize that.
an economic downturn means fewer taxes, fewer taxes means the deficit will
grow larger. that will use more money to just pay interest, the fact is that
the war is using more all the time{$200 billion so far} how will we pay for
iraq and clean up when we have less coming and we were borowing literally
like there is no tomorrow.
people see us make great efforts to help other countries now see the
government doing nothing for our own. that may be unfair and untrue but it
is the perception. the war is going to become a major domestic issue.
the u.s is at a crisis point and i have no faith in the chimpler to rise up
to the occasion.
from a news piece by neil irwin
New Orleans is underwater, and its future is uncertain -- as is that of the
$49 billion in goods, 60 percent of U.S. grain exports, and 26 percent of
the nation's natural gas supply and crude oil that flow through nearby ports
each year.
"The Mississippi River is the aorta of the American economy, and New Orleans
is the access point to it," said Al DeLattre, a supply-chain specialist with
consulting firm Accenture Ltd.
The damage might even be felt at the breakfast table. New Orleans warehouses
hold about a quarter of the nation's raw coffee, 211 million pounds.
Concerns that importers will have difficulty rerouting coffee shipments and
that large amounts of inventory have been lost pushed the price of coffee
for December delivery up to $1.01 a pound yesterday on the New York Board of
Trade, an increase of more than 3 cents, after gains Monday and Tuesday.
The sugar Americans add to their coffee could get more expensive too;
Department of Agriculture officials are sufficiently concerned about tight
sugar supplies because of Katrina that they raised import quotas on refined
sugar on Tuesday.
Exporters of U.S. goods, especially farmers in the Midwest, may have the
most to lose if New Orleans area ports are out of service for a prolonged
period. The harvest is just beginning -- the time when grain and other major
commodities for export are carried by barge down the Mississippi River, then
deposited in cargo ships to be carried overseas.
Exporters of manufactured goods might simply reroute and ship goods out of
Houston or Tampa. Agricultural exporters have fewer options in shipping
corn, wheat or soybeans. Moving the crops by train might cost up to five
times as much, and even then, other ports often lack the specialized
warehouses and equipment needed to handle the crops. If it takes more than a
few weeks to fix the ports, a glut of grain and widespread spoilage could
yield a disastrous season for farmers.
"If this is a week-long problem, it's probably not too damaging," said J.B.
Penn, undersecretary of agriculture for farm and foreign agricultural
services. "But if it's much longer, then it's a real problem."
back to my bitchin.
it will take more than a week. i think we all realize that.
an economic downturn means fewer taxes, fewer taxes means the deficit will
grow larger. that will use more money to just pay interest, the fact is that
the war is using more all the time{$200 billion so far} how will we pay for
iraq and clean up when we have less coming and we were borowing literally
like there is no tomorrow.
people see us make great efforts to help other countries now see the
government doing nothing for our own. that may be unfair and untrue but it
is the perception. the war is going to become a major domestic issue.
the u.s is at a crisis point and i have no faith in the chimpler to rise up
to the occasion.