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Friday, July 4, 2008 12:00 AM

A biofuel food-price bombshell

The U.K. Guardian reports some astonishing numbers from a "confidential" World Bank study on energy crops and grain prices.

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  • Friday, July 4, 2008 11:17 AM

    An economy only Dr Frankenstein could love

    I think there are 2 aspects to the speculation driven markets that come into play when politicians discuss them. Lying and ignorance. Ignorance on the part of so many politicians when clearly they don't even understand how the system works (how could they when it has been deliberately manipulated to obscure how it actually works). And lying when they just parrot whatever lobbyists have told them is the truth. When so many people in economics/finance are unable to predict what will happen or even to clearly explain what did happen after the fact, it indicates that the whole system is flawed and lacks transparency. It can't possibly be managed in a sensible way that benefits society.

    It seems like a crime when we have an economic system that allows so much wealth to be extracted without actually doing anything productive, and it is not an abstract thing either since this effects us all at the grocery store and when we buy or sell a home. I'm not saying capitalism is the problem, just that we have allowed some really clever people to set up rules for the game that very few people understand and that allow those who do to make money from doing nothing, or worse doing something that actually undermines the value built by the hard work of everyone else. This has to stop, and it does not make me anti-capitalist to say that I am tired of getting screwed like this.

    Since the economic system is set up for us and by us (well should be anyways) it should be something that we at least have a chance to manage in a way that benefits our long term goals as a society. Time to do a little tinkering to get the system to support long term thinking that leads towards a sustainable future and diminishes the casino night that we have allowed it to turn into.

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