Friday, January 03, 2003
“Nothing better illustrates the double standard of current US trade policy than agriculture. Consider the case of cotton. In 2001, the US Commodity Credit Corporation spent $4 billion subsidising the income of cotton producers, a fraternity comprising some 25,000 corporate farms in California, Texas, Mississippi and elsewhere. “Given that the world market value of the cotton crop was slightly over $3 billion, one might question whether the Bush administration’s farm policies owe more to the principles of Bolshevik state planning or the market principles espoused by Zoellick. But as the world’s largest cotton exporter, domestic subsidies in America have global consequences. According to the International Cotton Advisory Committee, they lowered world prices by around one-quarter, reinforcing the deepest and most protracted depression in world cotton markets since the Great Depression. “Skip from the subsidy fest in Texas to West Africa and you can see the results. The latter is a region where some 11 million households depend on cotton cultivation for their livelihoods, and where cotton is a crucial source of foreign exchange and government revenue. At a conservative estimate, it lost some $200 million in 2001 as a direct consequence of American farm subsidies.“ (Source Link)
This is the personal weblog of Grant Barrett, editor of the Double-Tongued Dictionary, a collection of words from the fringes of English. More about this site...
Recent Entries
- The American Dialect Society seeks 2008 word-of-the-year nominations
- Where would we be without “ass”?
- Organizing Our Marvellous Neighbours
- What a bitchin’ word!
- Don’t forget about the dialect: dauncy/donsie, faunch, and jockey box
- Wilf? Yuffer? Get real!
- Lexicographer Laurence Urdang Dies at 81
- A thesaurus can be harmful
- Can bad language punditry be stopped? Can false attributions for classic quotes be fixed?
- There’s one in every country
- Scottish Language Dictionaries fundraiser
- SouthWest Writers
- Disfluencies: What do they mean by “I mean”?
- A hearty endorsement of shout quotes: scare quotes used for emphasis
- How to buy a dictionary
Recent Catchwords
- tabletop exercise n. (11/20)
- fallen angel n. (11/20)
- sticky bomb n. (11/20)
- may state n. (11/20)
- Katrina cottage n. (11/20)
- autastic adj. (11/20)
- Twi-hard n. (11/20)
- screw up move up n. (11/20)
- crop n. (11/20)
- cutaway n. (11/20)
- hanger appeal n. (11/20)
- foiler n. (11/19)
- Romanette n. (11/19)
- labette n. (11/18)
- scope dope n. (11/18)
- platespeak n. (11/18)
- triggerfish n. (11/18)
- belay slave n. (11/16)
- blend wall n. (11/16)
- bliss point n. (11/16)
Archives
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
September 2005
August 2003
July 2003
June 2003
May 2003
April 2003
March 2003
February 2003
January 2003
December 2002
December 2001
November 2001
October 2001
September 2001
August 2001
July 2001
June 2001
May 2001
April 2001
March 2001
February 2001
January 2001
June 2000
May 2000
April 2000
March 2000
February 2000
January 2000
December 1999
November 1999
June 1999