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Open thread May 5, 2020

Dan Crawford | May 5, 2020 5:22 am

Tags: open thread Comments (21) | Digg Facebook Twitter |
21 Comments
  • Denis Drew says:
    May 5, 2020 at 10:09 am

    Where to find or create enough storage space for 15 trillion of tons of dry ice (captured CO2) while the world awaits totally nuclear and thermonuclear and renewable energy:

    At 100 pounds per cubic foot of dry ice (frozen CO2), a 100 foot X 100 foot X 100 foot block would contain a 100 million pounds, or 50,000 tons. At a cost of $100 a ton to capture CO2 from the atmosphere, it would cost 5 million dollars to capture enough to fill one cube.

    15 trillion tons of dry ice would take up the volume of 300,000,000 such cubes (15,000,000,000,000/50,000). At 50 blocks per mile — both width and length — that would come to 120,000 square miles of frozen CO2 (300,000,000/2500). That would fit into a space 3000 miles long and 40 miles wide.

    5% of GDP to capture, 5% of GDP to contain = 10% of GDP to keep C02 from turning our world from turning into Venus — while awaiting a completely non-carbon fueled civilization. May have to contain the stuff forever, but shouldn’t cost much.

    Possible design feature: storing dry ice containers at the bottom of the oceans could utilize the massive pressures at that level to hold the containers intact.

    • run75441 says:
      May 5, 2020 at 7:21 pm

      Denis:

      You could fertilize the ocean with iron to take on more carbon dioxide and stimulate phytoplankton growth.

  • Denis Drew says:
    May 5, 2020 at 11:26 am

    Just an eighth grade math thought: I McConnell and his fellow Repub devils complain that tax payers in other states don’t want to shore up supposedly over generous pensions, etc. of blue states — but just consider:

    TheHill.com
    Cuomo says NY has been bailing out other states for decades
    By Rebecca Klar – 04/27/20 01:03 PM EDT

    New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said Monday that New York has been “bailing out” other states for years … If you want to do an analysis of who is a giver and who is a taker, we are the number one giver,” he added.

    Cuomo said the state has paid $116 billion more than it received in federal spending since 2015, and for every $1 New York state gives to the federal government it receives 91 cents back.

    Cuomo later said New York is the “number one donor state,” adding other “giver states” including New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut and California are [now] among those looking for assistance while facing budget concerns amid the pandemic.

    “Who are the taker states? [McConnell’s] Kentucky, southeast part of the country,” he said.
    * * *

    AP FACT CHECK: Blue high-tax states fund red low-tax states
    By Stephen Ohlemacher December 9, 2017 [nothing has changed much]

    Mississippi received $2.13 for every tax dollar the state sent to Washington in 2015, according to the Rockefeller study. West Virginia received $2.07, Kentucky got $1.90 and South Carolina got $1.71.

    Meanwhile, New Jersey received 74 cents in federal spending for tax every dollar the state sent to Washington. New York received 81 cents, Connecticut received 82 cents and Massachusetts received 83 cents.

  • Arne says:
    May 5, 2020 at 12:20 pm

    When we subsidize the states that are producing our food, we are subsidizing ourselves. While eighth grade math may be enough,an eighth grade understanding of economics is unlikely to provide a problem statement with all the required input variables.

    • run75441 says:
      May 5, 2020 at 7:40 pm

      Arne:

      Do you believe the funds are going to family – type farms for crops, cattle, veggies, and fruit? Or perhaps the commercial manufacturing farms are receiving the largest share? Senator Grassley says he received no special attention from the Dept. of Ag when it comes to subsidies pre-Trump and after Trump. Grassley is described as a simple family farmer who also sits on the Agricultural Committee. I wrote about Bundy and the Malheur Wild Life Preserve. His grazing on Federal lands was destructive to the environment. One plus for him by doing so was to be able to maintain a larger herd of cattle and be able to sell at a lower price to the meat packer feed lots per lb. One of the biggest issue for small farmers and cattlemen is their pricing. That is more of a material cost and not an Overhead issue. While we may get lower costs from the large manufacturing cattle companies, we are also faced with the environmental issues created by them and the carbon release.

      Much of the subsidy goes to the larger commercial farmers. States are not growing food, corporations are which already have lower corporate rates vis tax breaks and via Trump/Republicans.

      Is this what we want?

  • Arne says:
    May 5, 2020 at 12:24 pm

    “food” is, of course, not the whole story, but it is at the guns and butter level.

  • Joel says:
    May 5, 2020 at 12:56 pm

    @Arne,

    I thought most of the food in this country (that isn’t imported from other countries) is produced by giant agribusiness, no? How do federal subsides for states find their way to agribusiness?

  • Denis Drew says:
    May 5, 2020 at 1:01 pm

    Re: Protecting Whistleblowers under COVID-19: A Proposal for “Preclearance” for Termination
    Rachel Sandalow-Ash, May 5th, 2020
    https://onlabor.org/protecting-whistleblowers-under-covid-19-a-proposal-for-preclearance-for-termination/

    *
    “This system has several key advantages. First, it would provide economic stability to workers for the duration of the legal controversy regarding their potential termination. Second, it would guarantee that workers facing termination have legal representation. Third, a worker facing potential termination would (generally) remain on the job and be better positioned to engage in collective action with her coworkers. And finally, the administrative burden of going through this process might deter employers from firing workers for retaliatory reasons or without just cause.”
    *

    The overwhelming most beneficial effect of “preclearance” might turn out to be protecting union organizers in a workable/practicable way, finally.

    Of course there is the path pointed out by Andrew Strom a couple of years ago — can’t believe there’ve been no takers, or pushers — guarantee removal of Shallow Donald (A.K.A, Shallow Man) from the White House along with many anti-labor US Senators (A.K.A., Republicans):
    https://onlabor.org/why-not-hold-union-representation-elections-on-a-regular-schedule/

  • reason says:
    May 5, 2020 at 1:31 pm

    Joel, yes Arne’s comment is transparent bullshit

  • Arne says:
    May 5, 2020 at 1:49 pm

    Joel,

    If those giant agribusinesses can hire people cheaper because those workers have a federally provided safety net, those agribusinesses (and their products) are being subsidized.

  • Joel says:
    May 5, 2020 at 1:55 pm

    @Arne,

    The word “if” is doing all the work in that sentence.

  • Arne says:
    May 5, 2020 at 2:08 pm

    “The word “if” is doing all the work in that sentence.”

    I can agree with that since my point is that it is more complicated than eighth grade math.

  • Joel says:
    May 5, 2020 at 2:10 pm

    @Arne,

    So your explanation is “trust me?”

  • Arne says:
    May 5, 2020 at 6:16 pm

    Joel,

    I don’t expect you to trust me, but I don’t expect to spoon feed you and Reason.

    “How do federal subsides for states find their way to agribusiness?”

    Have you heard of the Farm Bill?

    Cuomo : “for every $1 New York state gives to the federal government it receives 91 cents back”

    Cuomo is feeding the trope that taxes spent in ways he does not see do not benefit him. If you account for subsidies on things New Yorkers consume, that 9 cents will go down. If we close the carried interest loophole, it will go up, but we should do it. It is not a good yardstick.

    • run75441 says:
      May 5, 2020 at 7:42 pm

      Arne:

      Joel is no fool and I believe he has the wherewithal to understand what you are saying.

  • Joel says:
    May 5, 2020 at 8:50 pm

    @Run,

    Thanks. No, I’m no fool. Having served on over 30 dissertation committees, I can spot when someone is bluffing and trying to pass off lazy, sloppy quips as an answer.

    “I don’t expect you to trust me, but I don’t expect to spoon feed you and Reason.”

    LOL! And f*** you, too, Arne.

  • Arne says:
    May 5, 2020 at 9:32 pm

    Run,

    If Joel has the wherewithal to understand what I am saying, why is he having so much trouble? I am not making a quantitative argument. I am merely observing that subsidizing agriculture provides a benefit to anyone who purchases food. If it cannot be taken as given that the US subsidizes agriculture, then I am not the only one reading the wrong news.

    • run75441 says:
      May 5, 2020 at 11:36 pm

      Arne:

      The gov is funding big farm business to provide food and at what cost? Joel is questioning your thought process and how you reached your conclusion. For one, I do not agree with your end conclusion. This is like big pharma which I was a part as well as the processed food industry.

  • Amateur Socialist says:
    May 6, 2020 at 7:49 am

    Courtesy Naked Capitalism a very sobering 4000 word essay on why 30% unemployment is probably just the beginning.

    https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2020/05/people-and-jobs-or-wealth-the-government-has-to-decide-which-to-prioritise-and-there-is-only-one-right-answer.html

    Michael Hudson has been patiently explaining for decades that “Debts that can’t be repaid will never be repaid”. Voila.

  • Arne says:
    May 6, 2020 at 12:35 pm

    Perhaps my English teacher would suggest I have done a porr job of conveying my thoughts?

    Is there really some doubt that subsidizing agriculture will reduce the price of agricultural goods?

  • Arne says:
    May 6, 2020 at 12:36 pm

    There’s an ironic typo.

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