Prairie Dogs, Treasury “full faith and credit”, and Republican Attempts to Raise Interest Rates
The black-tailed prairie dog has been eliminated from 98 percent of its original range. This formerly ubiquitous rodent has been trapped, poisoned, shot, and cursed out since cattlemen moved in to the Great Plains.
New studies, however, show that prairie dogs are essential to the ecology of the plains. They prevent desertification and aerate the soil. The holes allow large amounts of water to penetrate deep into the soil during the infrequent, heavy rainstorms. Their burrows provide homes for many other animals, and they are easy prey for hawks and black footed ferrets. They do not compete with cattle for grass, although their holes do sometimes cause broken legs.
The elimination of prairie dogs, while probably impossible, would cause grave damage to the ecosystems of the Great Plains. Prairie dogs should be encouraged to colonize the large, empty lands within the National Forests and elsewhere, that are not being used. The presence of cattle should not be an excuse for trying to wipe out prairie dog colonies.
Prairie dogs are just another example of how people disturb ecosystems and cause serious alterations to the land without thinking beforehand. We must always consider the effects of our behavior on our natural (and artificial) environment and avoid disturbing systems that have flourished for many generations.
The presence of seven billion people, soon to be nine billion, is having a profound effect on the environment. With good management, we can probably feed everyone, and with rising living standards we can probably introduce a small family policy that will prevent further growth. However, the effects of global warming and other, unforeseen damages must be planned for.
The behavior of the Republicans (and some of the Democrats) in the United States Congress bodes ill for the possibility of solutions coming from this body. In fact, economists have said privately that if there is a third government shutdown in the next few months, credit agencies will seriously downgrade the US rating, causing skyrocketing interest rates. There is some method in this madness if what you desire is specifically to raise interest rates for the US government (and everyone else as well.) There are people who have money and prefer to keep it in safe vehicles such as Treasury Bonds, but don’t like the currently tiny interest rates that are on offer. These people could be motivated to take action, regardless of its side effects, that causes interest rates to go up significantly.
There is no way that interest rates are going to go up in the current economic climate. Investors love T-bills because they’re so safe, but their interest rates are pitiful because the economy is so weak. So if you want higher interest rates, in the current economy you have to invest in more speculative vehicles, such as new companies with new products or loan sharking. Only an extremely powerful individual or group with a desire to raise interest rates would consider using the debt ceiling bill to shut down the economy. The number of politicians who have to be lined up to get this on is not that great; as a matter of fact, estimates of Tea Party stalwarts in the House run from forty to eighty or so.
The critical Tea Party advantage is the rules changes that allow the Speaker of the House to prevent any bill from coming to a vote unless it satisfies the Tea Party faction. The rule (sometimes called the Hastert Rule) has been tightened so that only the Speaker of the House can propose any legislation at all. This rule is anti-democratic. It prevents a bipartisan majority from bringing up a bill that will be a result of compromise and have a good chance of also passing the Senate. As it is, the only legislation that comes out of the House now is so extreme that it has no chance of passing the Senate. So, for example, the House has voted over forty times to abolish “Obamacare” and none of these bills have even been brought up in the Senate.
Thus, the Tea Party, by using the Hastert Rule, has prevented the legislative branch of government from producing any legislation at all. This is a shocking dereliction of duty and shows an inability to compromise. There is some justice in claiming that Democrats would not use this rule to create legislative traffic jams the way the Republicans have been doing. Do you suppose that a radical Democratic faction would threaten to shut down the government if Congress refused to pass a 25% increase in taxes on incomes of over $250,000?
Compromise is essential to governing,; the Tea Party is unable to govern. It only does the bidding of those hidden rich people who created it. Some of these people could be trying to force interest rates up by crippling the Treasury.
These hidden rich people are like the cattlemen who decide to destroy the Plains ecosystem to enhance their profits from running cattle. They both have a profoundly destructive effect on their environment, which may not be immediately recognizable, by taking actions that improve their short term yield while insidiously affecting the long term environment.
Oranges
Snow on the Mountain Across the Street
There has been some mention in the news recently of a “medical device tax.” This tax is said to be unpopular despite its inclusion in the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare.) Nonetheless, it has survived a government shutdown and near-default.
In fact, while the Act was being discussed in Congress, the medical device companies favored it, or at least didn’t make any objections. After it was enacted, however, the companies began to lobby against it. Since enactment, there has been massive lobbying against all aspects of the ACA. This lobbying occurred only after the Act had been passed and vetted by the Supreme Court. Conservative groups have been working overtime in an attempt to get the Act stopped or at least hobbled. It is odd that these groups didn’t complain before. It seems that they have been spending money primarily in an effort to make the President look bad, rather than to actually affect legislation.
The New York Times has an op-ed today about medical device manufacturers and how they control the government which is supposed to be regulating them. Two examples will show how the companies have distorted the market with “anticompetitive” practices. These apply to implanted devices such as artificial hips and knees. First, the companies force the hospitals that buy their devices to keep their prices secret, so that no-one can make cost comparisons. Second, they have prevented the establishment of a device registry that would show relative failure rates for the different brands and types of devices. The companies themselves have data on failure rates, but they keep this information secret.
As a result, Johnson and Johnson’s medical device division had an operating profit of $7.2 billion in 2012. The device tax would cost them at most $300 million. For comparison, they spent only $1.7 billion on research and development. It seems only logical that they should plow much more of their profits into R+D if they wish to remain competitive. However, they really don’t have to compete because of the way they have distorted the market; instead, they cooperate with the other device companies to divide up the market and share the riches.
Many observers complain that there isn’t enough competition in the medical business. Medicine does not lend itself to competition, and introducing it might have unexpectedly negative effects on quality of medical care. Instead, intensive regulation to control costs and allow doctors and hospitals to make well-informed comparisons between devices and drugs would be the most beneficial change. The problem of competition– a race to the bottom– was not addressed in the NYT op-ed and is not well recognized by most “experts.”
The NYT op-ed can be found at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/17/opinion/the-myth-of-the-medical-device-tax.html?src=un&feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fjson8.nytimes.com%2Fpages%2Fopinion%2Findex.jsonp
Abandoned Cabin, South Dakota
Green River Vista
Three Deer, Not Seen
A Hole in a Wall, Canyonlands Utah
Plane Towing Glider to Altitude
The colors were obtained with Photoshop.
