What's for Dinner?

An excellent article in this week’s Isthmus discusses the concept of sustainable food production and consumption from a pragmatic perspective. I have become entranced by this issue since moving to Madison and its wonderful Capitol Square Farmer’s Market with a bounty of locally grown produce, meat, and cheese. I used to be a bit on the skeptical side with anything “organic” or “sustainable,” but I have realized that I had let the hard liners spoil the underlying value of the concept.

The idea that I can purchase my produce directly from the person responsible for growing it is a good thing for a number of reasons. Increased consumer confidence, lowered usage of fossil fuels for shipping, fresher is often healthier, and supporting the local economy are some of the keys to the concept. Of course, being the food snob I am, the key to my conversion lies in the quality of the product. The San Marzano tomatoes I get from a local organic vendor in July are absolutely incredible.

If you are at all interested in this topic, I would recommend a quick read of the article. I am interested in a method of measuring local consumption... by weight, meal, cost, mile... so many variables, I would have to love it.

Also, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle may be worth the time as well.

SCHIP and Income Limits -- A Fair Debate?

President Bush’s recent veto of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) passed by Congress has raised considerable debate regarding the role of government in providing health care generally, and the income threshold at which a family is eligible specifically. I speculate that there is will be no simple method for establishing a bright line test on the income threshold issue, but I do believe that there is a common misconception of the value of an annual salary at set point x. There are a number of possible reasons for this disconnect between the way a salary is portrayed in daily discussions and what that salary will actually purchase for a family of four. The most obvious reason for the failure of the debate to focus on the actual purchasing power is that those in the debate, by and large, are not exactly in the $40K-$83K income bracket. A second potential disconnect lies in the aging population and the fact that older citizens tend to be more involved in the political discourse. These older folks also invariably remember when you could buy everything for a nickel, or at most a dollar… In all seriousness, even if these folks have some grasp of inflation and its role in the economy – they could be caught up in the absolute dollar changes as we progress into territory where 2.5% inflation per year is equal to seemingly significant amounts in absolute dollar amounts.

Here is a very generic listing of expenses that I think are reasonable for a family of four...
Housing:
$10,752 for house payment (150K house, 7%, w/ 10% down)
$4,500 for property taxes, insurance, maintenance, and improvements
Transportation:
$3,804 car payment ($20K new car, 60 mths, 7%, 20% down)
$540 one monthly bus pass
$1,600 maintenance, fees, registration, repairs, and insurance
$2,037 in gas (27 miles a gallon, 20K miles a year, $2.75/Gal)
Operations:
$1,000 Gas and Heat
$720 Phones – 2x Cells no home line
$500 Computer – Internet and maintenance
$300 Water and Sewage
$1,600 Clothing
$6,552 Food – 4,368 meals / year at $1.50 per meal
$1,500 Health durables, hair apts, general supplies
$1,600 Entertainment - gifts, toys, movies, dinner
$2,000 College Fund - $1K for each child
$800 School Supplies and fees
$2,000 Additional savings
$2,664 Student Loan payments – 10 yr, 6%, 20K

Total Expenses: $44,469
If you claim savings is not necessary: $40,469

Scenario Analysis:
200% poverty line: Salary: $40,000 – After FICA/Med and Tax Credit: $36,220
250% poverty line: Salary: $50,000 – After FICA/Med and Tax: $43,705
300% poverty line: Salary: $60,000 – After FICA/Med and Tax: $51,190

Income Statement:
$36,220 - $44,469 = ($8,249)
$43,705 - $44,469 = ($764)
$51,190 – $44,469 = $6,721

I don’t believe that this scenario analysis proves that a $60K salary is not enough to get by, but I do believe it may put into perspective just how quickly expenses pile up… Finding health insurance for a family of four in the private market for $560 a month is difficult, if not impossible. Don’t forget, this model family does not have resource consuming vices of alcohol, tobacco, or credit card fees. This analysis also fails to consider the potential for large unbudgeted expenses and features what I feel is a rather frugal lifestyle. Consider that adjusted for inflation a $30K salary in 1980 would be roughly equivalent to an $80K salary in 2006. I was not alive in 1980, so I can’t speak to what $30K was like then, but I speculate that it was not perceived to be as much as $80K is now. Also, it is important to note that health care costs, and thus health insurance, have risen at rates that far exceed inflation.

Hitchens speech reviewed at Critical Donkey...

I have made my initial post at Critical Donkey. It is a long-winded review of the Hitchens speech I saw this past weekend, and is the precursor to a full review of his most recent book: god is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.

Behind the Times is On the Go...

Initial Post has been made to my Donkey Behind the Times blog... This one will hopefully be a 1-3 times weekly affair, limited to about 300-400 words per post, and focusing on a Friedman, Krugman, and/or other Op-Ed piece from THE NEW YORK TIMES.

Just begin already.

Since my return from my Napa wedding in August, I have been continually telling myself that I was going to start a series of blogs here at Blogger and make a valiant effort to apply myself to consistently publishing material on each. Well, after more than a month of procrastination and consternation, I am beginning officially today. I was hesitant at first to start without a well thought out piece, but given the probability (or lack thereof) of me producing a solid piece of written work before next year, I thought it best to get the show on the road -- or net. A more detailed introduction to each of the am Donkey blogs will be published over the next week, but the general idea behind each is:

Donkey Behind the Times - The plan here is for me to read a Freidman, Krugman, and possibly one other op-ed piece each week. I will then try to write my thoughts on each, hopefully adding another perspective and some extension from the editorial.

Cards Donkey - Poker and Sports. Focusing on the St. Louis Cardinals, NFL football, and NCAA basketball and football.

Critical Donkey - I plan to offer up less than great reviews of film, books, and music... We will see how long I can keep up with my current reading list. On the block for sure are Hitchens, Obama, and Freidman.

And the home ship am Donkey will focus on whatever else is out there. Mostly politics I'm sure.