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How the Heat Wave Could Bust Your Grocery Budget
[TIME 1]
As if sweltering in triple-digit temperatures around the country weren't bad enough, consumers could face more pain in coming months, this time in the check-out line at the grocery store.
Scarce rainfall coupled with record-high temperatures has scorched crops in many of the nation's major corn-producing regions, with as much as 60 percent of corn grown in the United States experiencing drought conditions in June, according to the United States Drought Monitor.
Though this year's haul could still be one of the largest on record according to some estimates, the Department of Agriculture is still scaling back its forecasts, noting that this year's crop conditions are the worst since 1988.
"The best case scenario at this point is [a harvest] on par with 2002 or 2003, meaning now we're looking at one of the worst harvests we've had in 10 years," says Ricky Volpe, research economist at the USDA's Economic Research Service. "It could improve slightly, but it depends on when the first rainfall comes."
Bottom line: A smaller harvest of corn could translate into higher prices for everything from cereal to soda pop by this fall—unfortunate, especially since food prices had been slowing down in recent months.
[Read: That's No Baloney: Lobster Cheaper Than Deli Meat.]
Here are a few other ways your wallet could take a hit thanks to the hot weather:
Dairy. Corn isn't just used for consumer food products, it's an essential component in animal feed. With drought conditions crimping corn harvests, prices have edged higher, tacking on an extra $75 to $80 in production costs per head of cattle, according to estimates.
If farmers and ranchers have to fork over more money to feed their livestock, it costs more to produce things like milk and cheese. That means consumers could see price hikes to the tune of 6 percent, making the trip down the dairy aisle a little pricier.
Beef, pork, poultry. Meat prices are a bit more complex, and economists say the hamburgers and pork chops sold at the supermarket could actually end up being cheaper in the coming months—but only for a relatively short time.
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[TIME 2]
With the price to feed cattle and other livestock inching up and the amount of water it takes to keep large animals hydrated, it could end up being more cost efficient in the near term for farmers to send cattle, hogs, and chickens to the slaughterhouse instead of keeping—and feeding—them on the range.
"Meat prices might actually fall in the short term because [farmers] have to rush their livestock off to the slaughterhouses so they don't have to pay for the more expensive feed or worry about the animals passing away," says Chris Christopher, economist at IHS Global Insight.
That means there could be a whole lot more meat on the market this year, temporarily pushing down prices or at least muting increases.
But don't get too excited, meat prices will likely shoot up again in the future due to the resulting cattle shortage.
"There may very well be a dip in the short term as the market is flooded, but [in the] long run this will exacerbate the problem in terms of beef prices," Volpe says, noting that the price of beef has been on the rise in recent years. "Even before all this news about the drought, beef was on pace to rise about 4 to 5 percent, more than any other major category."
[Read: With slower growth, China can't play economic hero.]
Anything made with corn, wheat, or soybeans. It isn't just corn farmers that have been burned by high temperatures. Soybeans and wheat crops are also suffering from the drought. Along with corn, wheat and soybeans are in a vast number of products—everything from bread to vitamins to cooking oil.
"Corn is one of the single most important inputs to retail foods," Volpe says. "Corn affects almost 75 percent of the goods available in the supermarket."
It'll take awhile for higher corn prices to trickle down to consumers—about 10 to 12 months, Volpe says—especially since farmers don't know exactly what kind of havoc Mother Nature's antics have wreaked on their crops.
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[TIME 3]
"We really won't have a good idea of what effect this drought is going to have on prices until we get that first rainfall and we can revise our outlook at the USDA on the corn that we're going to harvest," Volpe says.
Still, experts say consumers could see some sticker shock as early as this fall, especially if dryness and high temperatures persist.
Meg Handley is a business reporter for U.S. News & World Report. You can reach her at mhandley@usnews.com and follow her on Twitter at @mmhandley.
Four Reasons Picking Condi Rice as V.P. Could Hurt Mitt Romney
Speculation kicked into high gear that a pillar of George W. Bush's foreign policy, Condoleezza Rice, has made Mitt Romeny's vice presidential short list when the Drudge Report reported as much late Thursday. But Democratic and Republican sources tell U.S. News & World Report that picking Rice might open a Pandora's Box, allowing the Obama campaign to hammer the former secretary of state and national security adviser for her roles in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Rice has risen to "near the top of the list" of potential Republican vice presidential picks, the Drudge Report reported. The presumptive GOP nominee could announce his V.P. pick in "coming weeks," Drudge reported, citing "sources."
One senior Republican source says Rice would bolster Romney in an area where he lacks major bona fides: national security and foreign policy. What's more, "she's a terrific speaker and a great debater--both are extremely important in a presidential campaign."
"Sure, you have the woman thing and the African-American thing," says the senior GOP source. "But, more importantly, she's extremely charismatic and an extremely nice human, which she manages to convey. People like that."
[VOTE: Should Mitt Romney Pick Condi As His VP?]
For her part, Rice has said publicly that her utopia lies in the nitty-gritty of the policy realm, not in presidential politics. Yet, ironically, it is Rice's own policy prescriptions and performance as a senior official in the national security policymaking realm that could hurt Romney's chances of becoming president if he chooses her, Republican and Democratic officials and sources say in interviews and their own writings.
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[TIME 4]
There are four main reasons why Rice could hurt Romney as his No. 2:
Iraq. National security experts on both sides of the political aisle agree on one thing: The 2003-launched Iraq conflict didn't exactly go as Bush and his senior-most lieutenants promised. And as Bush's national security adviser, Rice was at the forefront of every major war policy decision the administration made.
The Congressional Budget Office has put the cost of the 2003-launched campaign at over $800 billion; President Obama has said it cost $1 trillion. The Bush administration opted to finance the campaign through measures that further inflated America's debt level, critics argue. Nearly 5,000 U.S. military personnel died in the Iraq war, which was largely sold on warnings that Saddam Hussein possessed nuclear weapons that he or terrorists might use on the United States.
"Condi Rice, by all serious accounts, is the one who put the Yellow Cake claim out there," says Gordon Adams, who oversaw national defense budgeting for the Clinton White House, referring to then-Secretary of State Colin Powell's February 2003 presentation to the United Nations charging Iraq with possessing nuclear weapons.
Powell, during a recent Daily Show appearance, admitted mistakes were made: "I, of course, regret the U.N. speech that I gave, which became the prominent presentation of our case."
[Photo Gallery: Obama Behind the Scenes.]
"Condi Rice is the one who let the secretary of state embarrass himself in front of the United Nations," says Adams. Asked how he would write an Obama ad criticizing Rice's role in the ill-fated Iraq war, Adams was quick to reply with more than one splash of sarcasm: "Did you like Iraq? You're going to love Iran."
Afghanistan. When the Bush administration decided in early 2003--some sources say the actual decision was made shortly after the 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S.--to go to war in Iraq, it shifted the primary focus of the U.S. military and intelligence community away from the Afghanistan war.
"While the Bushes were fiddling in Iraq, Kabul was burning," says Adams. "Iraq took the administration's eye off the ball in Afghanistan. It really was a double fault."
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[TIME 5]
The Afghanistan conflict largely became a stalemate between U.S., NATO, and Afghan forces and their Taliban foes after Washington pivoted toward Iraq. The Afghanistan war's bills mounted despite few tactical or strategic gains there, and U.S. and coalition casualties climbed steadily from 109 in 2001-2003 to 521 from 2004 until 2008, when Bush left office.
Former officials have described the Afghanistan war from 2003 until 2008 as being on autopilot, following a set budget and featuring "fighting seasons." It essentially devolved into just another poorly-managed Pentagon program operating free of intense executive branch scrutiny or congressional oversight.
Poor Manager? As national security adviser to Bush, Rice was the head of the National Security Council. Sources say the Obama campaign team would have an easy time hammering her as a poor manager who was often steamrolled by former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
"Her stewardship of the NSC was consistently an end-run by the vice president and the secretary of defense," says Adams. "They could easily say: 'Rarely has there been a NSC that had a less-central role than the one Rice ran.' Bad policy and inconsistent leadership don't make for a strong V.P. candidate."
The Obama campaign also would need only to flip through the pages of Rumsfeld's 2011 biography to find ammunition with which to pelt Rice.
In that tome, Rumsfeld took more than a few swipes at Rice, calling her a poor manager of the NSC. Rumsfeld claims she constantly sought policies that were compromises instead of fostering in-depth discussions among administration heavyweights that he says were needed on a range of issues.
Politics. Pundits of all political stripes are all over cable news reminding voters the main issues in the 2012 presidential race are the stagnant economy and creating jobs. How a self-described career national security and foreign policy wonk would help Romney on either issue is a mystery to Republican and Democratic operatives alike.
While this is out of Rice's control, her expertise could be a hindrance rather than an asset for Romney.
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[FREE]
"This is an economic election. Right now, it's all about jobs and the economy. It's doubtful that will change much," says the senior Republican source. "It comes down to the extent to which the politicos close to Romney value foreign policy."
Additionally, Rice is a creature of California in an election that likely will be decided by a handful of swing states. Most political experts say California is all but in Obama's back pocket already.
"Sure, she'll attract some votes," says the senior Republican source. "But if the Romney political team decides they need those key states, they'll go a different route with the V.P. pick."
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George Washington
This article is about the first President of the United States. For other uses, see George Washington (disambiguation).
George Washington (February 22, 1732 [O.S. February 11, 1731] – December 14, 1799), was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, serving as the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and later as the new republic's first President. He also presided over the convention that drafted the Constitution. Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, is named for him, as is the State of Washington on the nation's Pacific Coast.
Washington was elected the first president by unanimous choice in 1788, and he served two terms in office. He oversaw the creation of a strong, well-financed national government that maintained neutrality in the wars raging in Europe, suppressed rebellion, and won acceptance among Americans of all types. His leadership style established many forms and rituals of government that have been used since, such as using a cabinet system and delivering an inaugural address. Washington is universally regarded as the "father of his country."
Washington was born into the provincial gentry of Colonial Virginia; his wealthy planter family owned tobacco plantations and slaves. After both his father and older brother died when he was young, Washington became personally and professionally attached to the powerful William Fairfax, who promoted his career as a surveyor and soldier. Washington quickly became a senior officer in the colonial forces during the first stages of the French and Indian War. Chosen by the Second Continental Congress in 1775 to be commander-in-chief of the Continental Army in the American Revolution, Washington managed to force the British out of Boston in 1776, but was defeated and almost captured later that year when he lost New York City. After crossing the Delaware River in the dead of winter, he defeated the British in two battles, retook New Jersey and restored momentum to the Patriot cause. Because of his strategy, Revolutionary forces captured two major British armies at Saratoga in 1777 and Yorktown in 1781. Historians laud Washington for his selection and supervision of his generals, encouragement of morale and ability to hold together the army, coordination with the state governors and state militia units, relations with Congress and attention to supplies, logistics, and training. In battle, however, Washington was repeatedly outmaneuvered by British generals with larger armies. After victory had been finalized in 1783, Washington resigned rather than seize power, proving his opposition to dictatorship and his commitment to American republicanism. He retired from the presidency in 1797 and returned to his home, Mount Vernon, and his domestic life where he managed a variety of enterprises. He freed all his slaves by his final 1799 will.
Dissatisfied with the weaknesses of Articles of Confederation, in 1787 Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention that drafted the United States Constitution. Elected as the first President of the United States in 1789, he attempted to bring rival factions together to unify the nation. He supported Alexander Hamilton's programs to pay off all state and national debt, to implement an effective tax system and to create a national bank (despite opposition from Thomas Jefferson). Washington proclaimed the United States neutral in the wars raging in Europe after 1793. He avoided war with Great Britain and guaranteed a decade of peace and profitable trade by securing the Jay Treaty in 1795, despite intense opposition from the Jeffersonians. Although never officially joining the Federalist Party, he supported its programs. Washington's "Farewell Address" was an influential primer on republican virtue and a warning against partisanship, sectionalism, and involvement in foreign wars.
Washington had a vision of a great and powerful nation that would be built on republican lines using federal power. He sought to use the national government to preserve liberty, improve infrastructure, open the western lands, promote commerce, found a permanent capital, reduce regional tensions and promote a spirit of American nationalism. At his death, Washington was hailed as "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen".The Federalists made him the symbol of their party but for many years, the Jeffersonians continued to distrust his influence and delayed building the Washington Monument. As the leader of the first successful revolution against a colonial empire in world history, Washington became an international icon for liberation and nationalism, especially in France and Latin America. He is consistently ranked among the top three presidents of the United States, according to polls of both scholars and the general public.
Presidency (1789–1797)
George Washington takes the oath of office of the President of the United States, April 30, 1789.
The Electoral College elected Washington unanimously as the first president in 1789,[Note 5] and again in the 1792 election; he remains the only president to have received 100 percent of the electoral votes. John Adams, who received the next highest vote total, was elected Vice President. At his inauguration, Washington took the oath of office as the first President of the United States of America on April 30, 1789, on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City.
The 1st United States Congress voted to pay Washington a salary of $25,000 a year—a large sum in 1789. Washington, already wealthy, declined the salary, since he valued his image as a selfless public servant. At the urging of Congress, however, he ultimately accepted the payment, to avoid setting a precedent whereby the presidency would be perceived as limited only to independently wealthy individuals who could serve without any salary. The president, aware that everything he did set a precedent, attended carefully to the pomp and ceremony of office, making sure that the titles and trappings were suitably republican and never emulated European royal courts. To that end, he preferred the title "Mr. President" to the more majestic names suggested.
Washington proved an able administrator. An excellent delegator and judge of talent and character, he talked regularly with department heads and listened to their advice before making a final decision. In handling routine tasks, he was "systematic, orderly, energetic, solicitous of the opinion of others ... but decisive, intent upon general goals and the consistency of particular actions with them."
Washington reluctantly served a second term. He refused to run for a third, establishing the customary policy of a maximum of two terms for a president.
Domestic issues
See also: Whiskey Rebellion
Washington was not a member of any political party and hoped that they would not be formed, fearing conflict that would undermine republicanism. His closest advisors formed two factions, setting the framework for the future First Party System. Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton had bold plans to establish the national credit and build a financially powerful nation, and formed the basis of the Federalist Party. Secretary of the State Thomas Jefferson, founder of the Jeffersonian Republicans, strenuously opposed Hamilton's agenda, but Washington typically favored Hamilton over Jefferson, and it was Hamilton's agenda that went into effect. Jefferson's political actions, his support of Philip Freneau's National Gazette, and his attempt to undermine Hamilton, nearly led George Washington to dismiss Jefferson from his cabinet. Though Jefferson left the cabinet voluntarily, Washington never forgave him, and never spoke to him again.
The Residence Act of 1790, which Washington signed, authorized the President to select the specific location of the permanent seat of the government, which would be located along the Potomac River. The Act authorized the President to appoint three commissioners to survey and acquire property for this seat. Washington personally oversaw this effort throughout his term in office. In 1791, the commissioners named the permanent seat of government "The City of Washington in the Territory of Columbia" to honor Washington. In 1800, the Territory of Columbia became the District of Columbia when the federal government moved to the site according to the provisions of the Residence Act.
In 1791, Congress imposed an excise tax on distilled spirits, which led to protests in frontier districts, especially Pennsylvania. By 1794, after Washington ordered the protesters to appear in U.S. district court, the protests turned into full-scale defiance of federal authority known as the Whiskey Rebellion. The federal army was too small to be used, so Washington invoked the Militia Act of 1792 to summon militias from Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey. The governors sent the troops and Washington took command, marching into the rebellious districts. The rebels dispersed and there was no fighting, as Washington's forceful action proved the new government could protect itself. These events marked the first time under the new constitution that the federal government used strong military force to exert authority over the states and citizens.
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发表于 2012-7-15 03:59:22
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