All Things in Moderation

TRES FAUX MORNING REPORT

7 Responses

1. 

   Mike, on April 20, 2012 at 12:47 pm said:

   Jared Bernstein cheerleads for TARP.

   Citigroup shareholders say no to proposed executive pay packages.

   Free crop insurance will save money?

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     ScottC, on April 20, 2012 at 1:14 pm said:

     Mike:

     Free crop insurance will save money?

     No. This is just another example of how an issue gets framed in order to hide the truth of what is actually going on. If you read the article, it turns out that what will actually save money is changing what is being insured.
     

     Government subsidies have encouraged private insurance companies to offer increasingly gold-plated forms of crop insurance. The policies don’t just cover the risk of bad weather anymore. They guarantee a farmer’s income, covering all kinds of risks, including the risk that corn prices might fall….

     …Babcock’s alternative is a basic crop insurance program that would only cover the risk of a poor harvest. If a farmer’s harvest fell below 70 percent of the farmer’s average yield, the government would pay that farmer the full market price of any additional loss. Babcock calculates that the cost of providing this coverage for free would be $5.7 billion to $18.5 billion less than the current program, depending on how many farmers participate.

     
     Or it would cost even less if, rather than giving this new “basic” insurance away for free, the government only offered to subsidize the basic insurance, and refused to subsidize the gold plated insurance.

     Even better, of course, would be if the government stopped subsidizing this insurance altogether, and let the farmers buy whatever insurance they wanted with their own money. Then the cost would be, if I am doing my math correctly, roughly $0 billion per year.

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     markinaustin, on April 20, 2012 at 7:39 pm said:

     Read this story, then go to the linked website and check your computer.

     http://www.statesman.com/news/nation/hundreds-of-thousands-may-lose-internet-in-july-2316615.html

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2. 

   Troll McWingnut or George, whichever, on April 20, 2012 at 3:01 pm said:

   “Even better, of course, would be if the government stopped subsidizing this insurance altogether, and let the farmers buy whatever insurance they wanted with their own money. Then the cost would be, if I am doing my math correctly, roughly $0 billion per year.”

   Meh, a billion here, a billion there, pretty soon you’re talking about real money.

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3. 

   Troll McWingnut or George, whichever, on April 21, 2012 at 8:59 am said:

   Wow! Corzine is still a top bundled for the Onama campaign.

   http://hotair.com/archives/2012/04/20/unbelievable-jon-corzine-still-bundling-mega-bucks-for-obamas-campaign/

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4. 

   okiegirl, on April 21, 2012 at 10:11 am said:

   Who put up today’s quote (DeNiro, Midnight Run)?

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     ScottC, on April 22, 2012 at 1:12 pm said:

     Me.

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