Have yourself a Happy Little New Year

It has been a not so wonderful year for most of us in the 99%.  Wages remain stagnant, far too many people are unemployed, the Congress is, thanks mostly to Republicans, unable to make the commonsense governing decisions to make the country function.   On the personal side, the weather was far to variable for easy gardening.  Wet weather in June destroyed the onion and potato crops at Casa Monzeglio and delayed corn planting until it was no longer practical.  As with all things weather related, there were compensations.  The beautiful fall weather enabled bumper crops of beets, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower.  I'll rinse and repeat in 2014, hopefully with better results.  I have never been a big fan of resolutions, so I won't make any besides committing to my daily natterings on this blog.  I hope the political and economic situations will get better, but with the present polarization in the country, the aging and death of the "greatest" and the "boomer" generations is probably only way things will change.   I hope to break 80 on a golf course in 2014.  I also hope the family will remain healthy and any changes in that regard will be for the best.   Have yourself a Happy Little New Year and let's all "muddle through somehow".

vegetable demand

Flat and falling would seem to be the answer to the statement above.  Despite a growing population and a fairly consistent message from the media that Mom always was right about eating your veggies for better health, demand for the green stuff seems less than it was 20 years ago.  Part of this perception may be the overall supply.  With better refrigeration and handling techniques and new sources of supply around the world, there is more variety on a 12 month basis than ever before.  Enter any supermarket produce department and you are overwhelmed by the number of choices.  But check the grocery carts at the checkout and many are devoid of fresh vegetables.  Highly processed foods predominate among the consumer selections.  It was recently calculated that to eat a very healthy diet low on processed foods would require the expenditure of about $1.50 per person per day for the average family.  That doesn't seem like very much, until you multiply that out over a week's time and for a family of four it comes to almost $30/week.  Of course, that is only the equivalent of 3-4 packs of cigarettes per day.  What it really comes down to is better education and subsidies so the poor can afford to eat better.  As always, easier said or blogged than done.

Nice work if you can get it

Paul Krugman had an interesting blog post on Christmas Day theorizing corporations may actually profit from a slack economy which holds down wages.  Corporate profits are booming, but most employees are terrified of losing their jobs.  Turnover at most companies is way down from the normal rate in a recovering economy because both workers and their bosses know there are three applicants for every job being offered.  Except for high tech jobs which require specialized skills, there is no dearth of workers for almost any job.  This leads to wage stagnation even as profits rise.  Krugman does not say, but probably assumes all of us know that wages are almost always the biggest expense for most corporations.  Holding down wages is one way to increase profits, even if demand is flat.  While he does not suggest there is actual collusion among CEOs to hold down wages, the collective decisions made by corporations have had the same effect.  As the middle class is ground down by decades of falling wages in real terms, will balance ever be restored in relationship between workers and capital?   It's a question with an answer most people will not like.

Christmas time is here...and gone

Like that song in a "Charlie Brown Christmas" that drives the Divine Mrs. M crazy, the season seems to compress into a single day of gift giving and conviviality, followed on the 26th by a determined return to the business of normal life.  Now of course, the New Year's celebration will be front and center.   However, since there is significantly less profit to be made on celebrating that holiday, the drumbeat will be muted.  The year's best and worst lists, over eating and over drinking will occupy us for a few days before we get back to the normal grind.   The Pope's message of peace will be commented on, especially the part where he is exhorting other religions and even atheists to join in a drive to change the consumer culture.  The subversive nature of much of what the pontiff has been saying is not lost on multinational corporations and their media mouthpieces.  The environmental degradation and the attendant climate change drives their profits.  A change is in the air, and hopefully it will last longer than one day a year.

Christmas Wishes

No curmudgeonly posts today.  To all the readers (hopefully more than one) of this blog, may the blessings of the holiday season be abundant and continue through the New Year.  

Icy start to winter follies

Even though we dodged the big one, it was still an icy weekend on the NCR.  A 1000 foot deep layer of frozen air hovered over us and all the rain passing through it wound up as ice on exposed surfaces.  Ironically, the ski areas were rained on all weekend as they are elevated above the thousand foot level.  Lake Placid and Whiteface mountain were in the balmy 40s all weekend while those of us in the valleys were stuck in the low 20s.  A two hour stop at the local mall on Saturday required a one hour defrost to get the ice off the windshield.  On Sunday, a weather emergency closed the stores and most of the roads except to emergency vehicles.  Today looks more normal, and many people will be doing last minute shopping until the stores close on Christmas Eve.  With the passing of the Solstice, today is officially longer than yesterday, and we are one day closer to spring.  That should keep me going through the worst of the weather this winter.

Positive poseur

I have been told by the Divine Mrs. M, among others that my daily rants have been verging on the morbidly pessimistic.  I plead guilty on account of the weather, but will try to moderate the misery with at least a patina of optimism.   On that note, while it may be the shortest day of the year today, tomorrow will begin the long climb toward the summer solstice.  A little Paul Winter consort music for the winter solstice is in order today.  That and hoping the mercury edges high enough to abort the ice storm predicted for large areas of the north country this weekend.

Solstice musings

Let me make this perfectly clear.  I hate winter.  I know that's close to sacrilegious if you live in the north country, but I treat it the way southerners treat summer.  It's something to live through as expeditiously as possible.  While NYC and environs will set record temps this weekend with rain, the NCR (North Country Riviera for those who don't follow this blog on a regular basis) will be on the rain/snow line.  We expect 6-8 inches of white stuff, followed by freezing rain and then a plunge into the deep freeze to lock it all in place.   The psychic toll this takes on everyone, especially with little or no sunshine and the shortest days of the year is insidious.  All I want to do right now is curl up with a seed catalog or watch the golf channel.  But instead, I'll be scraping and shoveling and thinking of warmer days to come.  As the days lengthen a little and we get into January, I'll probably start skiing again and trying to make the best of a bad situation, but in the meantime it's good to get a little winter hate on the record.

Christmas fatigue

After hearing Bob Seger's version of "The Little Drummer Boy", I have officially OD'ed on Christmas music.   I look forward to hearing the timeless favorites every year, but at some point, a sharp stick in the eye is preferable to some of what passes for holiday carols.  I guess each generation of musicians must take a crack at the classics, but Madonna singing "Santa Baby" is too much early in the morning.

The pope and the American way

The new pope has had the audacity to actually treat the teachings of Christ as if they have relevance in today's society.  Predictably, the right wing of America has had a collective hissy fit.  The pope is a Marxist according to Rush Limbaugh.   No, I'm not says Francis, but some of my best friends are and they sometimes make sense.  I think he is playing with their heads.  The problem for the elites in our society is the New Testament is diametrically opposed to business as usual in 21st century America.  The religious dialogue is supposed to be focused on gays and abortions.  Like the wizard of Oz says, we are supposed to ignore the guy pulling the ropes and mouthing the phrases.   Jesus told the rich man to give all his wealth to the poor and free his spirit.  No wonder they crucified him.  These latter day Pharisees will not rest until Francis' message is muzzled and the conversation is returned to icky sex.   Let's hope the pontiff continues to discomfort the rich and give hope to the poor during the coming year.  It's almost enough to make this fallen away Catholic think their is something more to his childhood religion than incense and punishment.

Winter and virtue

Cleaning up after a winter storm almost always makes me feel somewhat virtuous.  The uncovering of the driveway from a blanket of white is a positive statement that winter can knock us down, but we'll get up and keep going.  Unfortunately, snow showers overnight put a patina of snow back on the asphalt, and the temperature tonight will be 7 below, so it's not going anywhere soon.   The Divine Mrs. M and I went to a reading of Dicken's  A Christmas Carol on Sunday and it seemed oddly relevant to the situation today.  The diatribes Scrooge hurls at the underclass of mid 18th century England sound very close to what you hear on Fox News regarding the layabouts collecting extended unemployment.  You can almost hear them saying "Are there no workhouses, are there no prisons?" when those without work wonder what will happen to them when their benefits run out.  This stigmatization of the unemployed gives comfort to the latter day Scrooges who see the social safety net as a drag on profits.  One can only hope Boehner and some of his henchmen see a few ghosts on Christmas Eve.

Punishment

For my intemperate diatribe against winter, Mother Nature is threatening to bestow 10-15 inches of snow on Saturday night and Sunday.  For whatever sins they may have committed, American workers got the "bipartisan" budget screw from Congress last night.  Mother may be capricious, but at least I know what I'll be dealing with for the next several months.  Congress, on the other hand seems to be relentlessly cruel to the 99% of us making less than a half million per year.  And there is no spring in sight.  While some spending on domestic programs was restored, so was more bloat to a military which has no mission to speak of but plenty of budgetary power.  No infrastructure spending to speak of, no relief for long term unemployed workers and the knives are still out for "entitlement" programs.   Some areas of the country will be virtually abandoned in coming years if the Trans Pacific Partnership treaty goes through.  The offshoring of jobs will continue and people will continue to gravitate to low paying service jobs.   It's a metaphorical winter that never seems to end.  Of course, the way to bring spring to America is to elect people who have the interests of the vast majority of us at heart.  Will we wake up, or will the moral issues which cloud economic self interest continue to bring us the Michele Bachmans and Steve Kings whose fruitcake value systems are leading to the beggaring of the nation.  Winter is coming.... will it ever end.

Curmudgenly winter posting

The older I get, the more I detest the winter season.  Walking the family dog this morning, the mercury hovered at 3 degrees and neither of us wanted to be out there.  The forecast for the weekend is snow, with at least some flurries expected every day next week.  I used to look forward to snow and the winter activities associated with the white stuff, like skiing, hot chocolate and ice skating.  Now I wonder if my tractor will start so I can clear the driveway and how many dollars are going up the chimney with each start of the oil burner.  Instead of a getaway to some frozen mountain, I long for palm trees and fairways.  The next person who waxes poetic about the wonders of winter should be boiled in hot chocolate and buried with a  stake of holly through their heart.  Bah, Humbug!

Not so veggie holiday

Markets continue to be sluggish for most vegetables as we head toward the Christmas holidays.  Lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli and spring mix are cheap and plentiful at shipping points and there is not much relief in sight for growers.   Most of us have given up trying to figure out why demand has lagged so badly.  The consensus is the root of the problem is the same as with the larger economy.  Many people don't have jobs, therefore no money to spend, and ergo, no demand.  With the Congressional budget deal failing to extend unemployment benefits, up to 4 million people and their families will lose purchasing power in the next few weeks.  Unfortunately, one of the first things to get cut from the family budget is fresh vegetables.  So it looks like the pain in the FOB market will continue.   The bright spot for vegetable marketers is the booming food pantry market.  Between private donations and government support, food banks have become an important customer for shippers with #2 grade vegetables which traditionally are very hard to move in an oversupplied market.  That's a pretty bleak message for the holidays.

Empathy deficit

The American public is starting to feel an empathy deficit regarding the long term unemployed.  The republicans in congress want to cut loose the 4 million long term unemployed instead of extending relief.  Along with the cuts to the food stamp program, this is represented as doing the lazy moochers a favor.  Instead of lying back and collecting all these cushy government benefits, the formerly employed should get in line for those Walmart greeter jobs.  Then they can apply for government largesse to cover the deficit between their munificent paycheck and what the real world demands.  While it is comforting for those of us with jobs to discount the millions who are collecting unemployment as unrealistic.  Take any kind of job and try to improve from there.  For a mid level executive who was dropped due to downsizing or off shoring or general economic downturn, flipping burgers or picking up trash is probably not an option, even if he or she were willing and able.  Many of these people have generated hundreds of job applications for low paying work and were told they were over qualified.  If the lone factory which supported most of the good paying jobs in town closes, there is relatively little chance you'll be able to sell your house and move to where there is an equivalent job without taking a huge loss.  Those of us who grew up in the latter part of the 20th century did not see the grinding poverty our grandparents experienced in the great depression.  The benefits many of us would deny the unemployed are what keeps communities around the country from imploding.  So even if our dark side would like to see the lazy moochers afflicted, in the end, the rest of us will pay the piper.

Feeling for the season

The Christmas vibe was all over the NCR this weekend.  The Champlain Valley Voices, presided over by the Divine Mrs. M performed on Saturday and we attended a Messiah sing in on Sunday in Tupper Lake.  The music was beautiful, as is the light snow this morning.  I hope it turns to rain this afternoon.  It seems Congress, however, wants to audition for the Grinch this year.  With time running out to renew unemployment insurance, reconcile the budget and get a farm bill passed, the House has decided to go on Holidays starting this Friday.  That means they are not only a do-little congress, but they been out of session more than in this year.  Of course, the plight of the 4 million long term unemployed mean little to our representatives, or so it seems.  By allowing their benefits to lapse, they are not only causing much pain to the individuals involved, but hurting everyone else as well.  When these people are cut from the rolls, family, friends and the overstretched local government agencies will have to deal with the fallout.  Lives are being ruined, families destroyed and no one seems to care.  Congress could pass a jobs bill this week and put these people back to work, but by some perverse logic, most republicans in the House seem to feel we should continue to punish those that can't find work.   Even though there are 3 times as many workers as there are job openings.  Logic is not a strong point with many of those who claim to represent us.

Goodbye Mr. Mandela

Nelson Mandela has passed and many tears, crocodile and otherwise will be shed. Reams of newsprint and whatever passes for that in cyberspace will be devoted to his legacy.  Even those who were his enemies in life will choke out a few hosannas.  For his country he is a curious mix of Abe Lincoln, George Washington and John Brown.  Along with a cast of thousands, he overturned apartheid and healed the rift between blacks and whites as no other leader in Africa has been able to do.  During the struggle he was reviled by many as a "communist".  The same idiots have applied that label and many others to President Obama.  It seems a black man cannot be a leader without much of white society trying to pigeonhole him it terms they can understand and fear without resorting to racist cant.  Mandela, much as Ghandi before him shows us the blueprint for combating oppression in a non-violent, but nonetheless effective way.  Hopefully future leader of other causes will look to him as someone worthy of emulation.

Tis the season

I ran out to the garden last night and harvested a couple of bunches worth of collards for supper.  Although they have endured temps in the  low teens several times in the last week, the leaves were still in good condition.  The winterbor kale also looks good and a nice warm rain today should freshen them and the spinach.  It's getting down to final harvest, but it has been a long and productive fall at Casa Monzeglio, so I'm not complaining.  The 10-14 day forecast looks cold and snowy, so a white Christmas looks like a foregone conclusion.  Meanwhile, in the markets, most winter vegetables out of the western and southern growing areas are in the tank.  Demand seems to be nearly non-existent and even with tighter supplies being touted by shippers, no one seems to care.  The post Thanksgiving hangover is continuing and only Christmas business will get things moving again.

Diet and Health

As we dive into the dietary vortex between Thanksgiving and Christmas, most of us tend to put on a few pounds.  Christmas parties, large meals, hectic schedules and COOKIES are diet killers.  Marc Bittman in today's NYT reminds us that moderation is important in a healthy diet.   I have flirted with the idea of vegetarianism or even veganism, but have usually pulled back from the brink, and Bittman's take on nutrition makes me feel better about the dietary path I and the Divine Mrs. M have taken over the years.  We now eat little red meat, and usually have one or two vegetarian meals per week.  With a large garden, the possibilities of all vegetable meals are endless.  It becomes more difficult during the winter, but still doable.  As both Bittman and the ethical nutritionist Michael Pollan preach, we eat lots of plants, little meat and processed foods and everything else in moderation.  The Achilles heel of this whole scenario is the upcoming holiday gluttony. 

Health care for Dummies

As it becomes more evident that the government's health care website is working and more and more people are signing up for health insurance, two things are happening.  First, republican's heads are exploding as the success of the website undercuts their argument that the whole system is unworkable.  Of course, the system in Massachusetts on which Obamacare is based has worked, so why shouldn't a nationwide system based on the same framework?  Second, more and more people are questioning the stupid premise of corporations profiting from everyone's need for healthcare.  We will all need medical intervention at times between our first breath and our last, and the easiest way to provide it is with Medicare for all.  By giving one entity the power to negotiate with Big Pharma, the hospital system and individual providers, we will have an efficient system similar to the one that delivers health care to our seniors.  A simple payroll deduction like the medicare or social security tax will take care of payment and most of the paperwork.  What's not to like if you are not an insurance company, or more specifically a millionaire CEO whose salary is paid by denying care to people and perpetuating a paperwork nightmare?

Turning the calendar

The golf clubs are in storage, the garden is sleeping, but the first harbinger of spring arrived on Saturday in the guise of a seed catalog.   Despite not being the first of my circle of gardening fanatics to receive said catalog it didn't dim my enthusiasm.  I daydreamed by the fire on Saturday evening, looking at new varieties, tools and equipment.  I won't start ordering until after Christmas, but as the cloudy, snowy days pile up, the anticipation of another season in the dirt keeps me going.  That and the promise of golf under the palms at some point....