California Budget Cuts: Equal JobLessness...

The red circle(s) indicate(s) "job lost" California's job loss is so large....... it falls off the chart!

I know this, "the budget cuts" = job loss= high unemployment= lost tax revenue = more budget cuts = more job loss= more unemployment = more lost revenue...... getting the picture

       $250 million in 2009-10 General Fund ($546 million total funds) cut from IHSS

It's Time for the BLUEPRINTforJustice:

What are your thoughts for creating jobs ?

Hit me up !

I asked my "mom" this question and she agreed to share our conversation with you....(I will share it during my next blog.) 

Do You Care About Poverty ?

The CONNECT

Ethanol → corn → food → POVERTY

Look, I am well aware that an alternative to oil dependency is of utmost importance, however when a Dash for green fuel pushes up price of meat in our country, well then.... then it's time to take a pause....The price of meat is set to rise again across the country as the nation’s helter-skelter dash to convert corn into road fuel begins to take its toll on the supply of food.

The US Department of Agriculture has said that meat supply will fall this year because of the high cost of feed. Output of beef, pork and chicken is expected to decline by one billion pounds as farmers react to the soaring cost of feeding their livestock.

The biofuel revolution’s unpleasant negative consequence was first noticed in our community of South Central Los Angeles , when the escalating price of corn affected the cost of Thanksgiving turkeys a year and a half ago. (Note. This is when Councilman Barnard Parks of the Los Angeles City Council, offered "freebees" at a non-union grocery store. I am happy to say, he paid for all those discounts by remaining a council member.... Some of you know what I mean...) ooohhh. Here is another note. Did you know that the unemployment rate has increased 9.2% in the 8th council district, since Councilman Parks was elected.. WOW!

.....Now back to the CONNECT...

In Washington, the International Monetary Fund added its warning about the consequences of a mass conversion of food crops into fuel. Vast US government subsidies for the production of ethanol, used as a petrol additive in America, has encouraged the expansion of ethanol distilleries. The indirect subsidy to ethanol on the 4.9 billion gallons produced in 2006 comes to $3.9 billion. Together with the direct subsidies of $0.9 billion for corn and $2.5 billion for ethanol the grand total is $7.3 billion. That's $1.50 per gallon of ethanol, or $2.28 per gallon of gasoline replaced.

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  In 2006, the total subsidies for ethanol came to roughly $7.3 billion, which is $1.50 per gallon of ethanol produced or $2.28 per gallon of gasoline replaced. These subsidies have produced an enormous boom in ethanol. Between August 2006 and January 2007, the capacity of existing plants and plants under construction grew from 7.4 billion gallons to 11.4 billion, a 54% increase in six months. Collins (USDA, 2006) describes the state of the market as ethanol euphoria.

Here's why the BLUEPRINT for JUSTICE wants to highlight the CONNECTION between Food and Fuel.

Sharp increases in food prices over the last few years have impoverished millions. In the up coming blogs(now that you have some facts) I will outline the inadequacy of states and federal government safety nets and propose means by which the progressive community might help poor consumers cope with rising food prices.

Keep this in mind--- food commodities prices increased 130% from January 2002 to July 2008. Individual agricultural commodities show even more pronounced increases: corn (up 190%), wheat (162%), rice, (318%) and soybeans (246%) rose dramatically. Food prices began to fall in July '08, bringing some relief, but prices are likely to stay high for the foreseeable future. What does this mean for the poor?

Turn to the BLUEPRINT for JUSTICE.

Food vs. Fuel

As this week's topic comes to a close on Tuesday. I felt it important to provide some interesting facts to a debate of which I am sure will continue. The BLUEPRINT is dedicated to raising one's intelligence on issues that have an impact on the poor.

Here are some facts regarding our GROCERY bills relationship to GAS Prices :

Fact#1

Ethanol is commonly made from sugar, but it can also be fermented from starch in crops like corn, wheat, canola and sorghum and then blended with existing oil-based fuel. It's one of the key alternatives being introduced around the world to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

Fact #2

By 2028, world demand for oil is expected to increase by a whopping 70 per cent. The price, supply and climate change implications are enormous. But the scramble for solutions is creating new concerns as more and more food is diverted into the fuel chain. In the United States, up to a third of the corn crop is now being used to make fuel.

My Commentary:

The food-vs-fuel argument shows no signs of going away. The latest contribution to this debate comes from Oil World, the global oilseed analyst. “A downward adjustment or a postponement of higher biofuel targets appears indispensable. If this does not happen, more social unrest due to escalating food prices is to be expected,” it asserts. It is, therefore, high time for governments promoting the use of crops for energy purposes to rethink their policies. If such a process starts, it could indeed trigger a sharp setback in prices of vegetable oils and oilseeds. But as long as the targets are maintained, there will be little downward scope for prices, it has pointed out. “When millions of people are going hungry, it’s a crime against humanity that food should be diverted to biofuel,” said finance minister Palaniappan Chidambaram in an interview in Washington recently. While many are worrying about filling their gas tanks, many are struggling to fill their stomachs, and it is getting more and more difficult every day. Food or GROCERIES. the BLUEPRINT.

Fw: Grocery and gas linked together

At grocery store and gas/fuel and food prices linked. The Blueprint

Grocery Store Nightmare !

Ever get that sinking feeling when your food is running over the grocery store scanner and that price total keeps going up and up? And then you give them that silly club card and it only saves you a couple cents, but only AFTER you take that ice cream back to the frozen food section and the rib-eyes back to the cooler? And then you have to put up with all that targeted junk mail they send to you as a result of being in that not-so-exclusive club?
Millions of Americans are experiencing that sinking feeling these days. What happened to the price of milk? Is corn really that expensive? How come rice ain’t so cheap anymore?
The economists say it’s all about supply and demand. That’s true, but it doesn’t tell the whole story, which is that the SUPPLY is being distorted by an unholy alliance of big agribusinesses interests and their lobbyists and a bunch of Midwest congressmen trying to buy votes. It’s time we DEMAND a change in policy, because it has helped to result in a huge transfer of wealth from the poor, who spend more of their money on consumption, to the corporate interests at home and the oil cartels overseas.
Because of federal mandates, they’re throwing tons of corn and wheat into the production of energy, which has sent the costs of these basic foodstuffs soaring. Supply and demand. There is less food for human consumption because it is being consumed as energy. For the first time, the cost of energy and the cost of food is linked directly, so when oil goes up, food goes up. The basic well-being of our citizenry is at the whim of the commodity traders who make their buck whether the price goes up or down.
How did this happen? Why are we kidding ourselves that using food for energy is a good thing when it (1) prolongs our dependence on oil at the expense of moving toward alternatives, (2) creates a cash crunch for the poor, who get hit at the grocer AND at the gas station and (3) increases instability overseas by sending those huddled masses into hysteria due to a lack of staples like rice and corn?
We’ve got to develop the BLUEPRINT !