Phil1111

Ah no. The USDA produces monthly reports generally based upon 20,000 farm reports. So its been revised monthly since harvest started in August 2019. In " Illinois farmers have been playing catch-up ever since heavy rains and flooding delayed or prevented planting across the state this spring. The USDA recently declared the entire state an agriculture disaster. " The January 2020 crop report was summarized in my earlier quote. Here is another based upon the same January 2020 revisions. From the USDA. USDA raises U.S. 2019 corn, soybean production Ag markets fall initially then stabilize, following USDA data dump.

I hate to tell you this Brent but its 2020. The 2019 crop is in the bin. It's ok not everyone has a ag background. Not everyone is up to date on the calendar.

Cherry picking once again eh? you do know that farmers generally run their business for more than a year. Some farms are multi generational. Indiana Corn, Soybeans: Production Way Down from 2018 Record January 15, 2020 From USDA "Indiana farmers faced incredible weather related challenges in 2019 which negatively affected production, according to Greg Matli, State Statistician, USDA NASS, Indiana Field Office. Indiana corn production in 2019 totaled 815 million bushels, 16 percent below 2018. Corn acreage harvested for grain totaled 4.82 million, down 6 percent from 2018. The average yield of 169 bushels per acre was 20 bushels below the 2018 record high yield." I realize its redumbdent trying to debate with false assumptions, misrepresentation and outright fibbing, as an opponent. Carry on!

Climate change is affecting crop yields and reducing global food supplies Cherry picking information as usual. " We found that climate change has affected yields in many places. Not all of the changes are negative: Some crop yields have increased in some locations. Overall, however, climate change is reducing global production of staples such as rice and wheat. And when we translated crop yields into consumable calories—the actual food on people's plates—we found that climate change is already shrinking food supplies, particularly in food-insecure developing countries. 'In the United States corn and soybeans are important cash crops, with a combined value of more than US$90 billion in 2017. We found that climate change is causing a small net increase in yields of these crops—on average, about 0.1 percent and 3.7 percent respectively each year. .. In some Corn Belt states, such as Indiana and Illinois, climate change is shaving up to 8 percent off of annual corn yields "

"InsideSources has a right leaning bias and utilizes sources such as the corporately funded American Enterprise Institute, which does not always support the consensus of science when it comes to climate change." Dutch supreme court upholds landmark ruling demanding climate action Oh well!, if you can't base opinions on facts and science. Use fluff and propaganda.

Called an expensive boner. " a scandal that has cost the company over $30 billion." from story. Second only to Amazon's Jeff Bezos $38bn in divorce settlement. Although its debatable if thats due to a boner.

Somehow I doubt that the CEO is going to remain CEO long by telling anyone what they want to hear. The rubber meets the road every quarter. Furthermore shareholders, board members, bond holders, etc. Generally are not stupid and don't suffer fools. You don't get to be the CEO of one of the premier German auto companies. Without having the left side of the brain driven by engineering. The right side of the brain, creative design and marketing. Meanwhile IMO its only a matter of time till TESLA gets on board with this direction. A carbon and aluminum car that doesn't need recharging or fuel.

Quite right. From the Taiwan link earlier: "To raise the contribution rate(budget), the government had to mobilize public opinion and support. Political theater ensued. The Taiwanese government hoped to sound the alarm early so that actions could be taken before the financial problem became a crisis (similar to what had been done for the U.S. Medicare program). In doing so, the government had to magnify the problem to gain public attention. Political opponents seized this opportunity to criticize the government. Since the public usually has a high degree of interest in the NHI, because it touches everyone’s lives, many politicians would like to use the NHI as a platform to gain public notice. Every real or imaged weakness of the NHI was exposed and debated." The Taiwan article make reference to how the US multi-insurer model: "In contrast, studies have found that transaction costs in the United States amount to more than 20 percent of premium revenues." and " The single-payer system also provided comprehensive information to create provider profiles to reduce potential fraudulent claims, abuses in coding, and the overuse of tests. It also allowed stringent control of claim payments across the board, which the BNHI adopted in 1999–2000. " The Taiwan plan also includes dental and full drug coverage. Which Canada does not cover. and " Taiwan spends a relatively smaller share of its GDP for health among the advanced economies, even after the NHI’s introduction. ... so that the NHI enjoys the status of being Taiwan’s most favored public program. "

Current oil prices will devastate about 40% of US smaller oil companies. Despite that progress, many small to mid-sized shale firms are now pulling back on production targets amid the gloomy price projections. Sept, 6, 2019 Small and mid-sized US companies are barely able to keep their heads above water. While the US FED has little room left to influence markets. The coronavirus outbreak could drag down debt-bloated companies. These are some of the most vulnerable Rule #1 in the equities markets: Bulls Make Money, Bears Make Money and Pigs Get Slaughtered If that all sounds too negative keep in mind that the sun will still rise tomorrow. Worrying about how your pension plan goes further and further in default of obligations. Will just give you grey hair.

Yes, this is how Taiwan did it: Is Canada the Right Model for a Better U.S. Health Care System? A caution has to be used in reference to this(above) story because its from the Wharton School of Economics, But in its defense." It’s rare for a professor to disparage the intelligence of a student, but according to attorney Frank DiPrima, who was close friends with professor William T. Kelley for 47 years, the prof made an exception for Donald Trump, at least in private. “He must have told me that 100 times over the course of 30 years,” ...“I remember the inflection of his voice when he said it: ‘Donald Trump was the dumbest goddamn student I ever had!’” So perhaps a mulligan is warranted.

You have an unyielding propensity to cherry pick your facts to fit your prejudiced beliefs. Norway:"The Norwegian government is taking some big steps on climate, but it still has a way to go. In June, its Parliament voted to extend divestment policies that will see its huge Government Pension Fund not only phase out investments in companies dealing with oil and gas exploration and production, but also divest from eight coal companies. The policies include a ban on the Fund investing in any company generating more than 10GW of electricity from coal - or mining more than 20 million tonnes of coal annually. Some of the resources will instead be invested in unlisted renewable energy projects. Norway also continues to lead the world with its record share of electric cars: in the first half of 2019 the share of electrically-charged vehicles sold in the country increased to 56%. However, the overall figure is still at around 8% of all cars. Norway’s long term, 2050 goal of becoming a “low carbon society” has been engrained in legislation in 2017, described as a 80-95% reduction below 1990 levels. In a January 2019 declaration, the government signalled its plans to increase this goal to a 90-95% emissions reduction, but failed to clarify how much of this it would achieve domestically." Germany" The German government’s new Climate and Energy Package, agreed in September 2019, does not contain enough policy action to meet its own emissions reduction targets for 2020 and 2030, which themselves are outdated and insufficient. The CAT rates Germany’s 55% emissions reduction target for 2030 (agreed in 2010) as “Highly Insufficient”; it needs to be strengthened to be compatible with the Paris Agreement. Earlier changes in regulation have almost completely stopped expansion of wind power in 2019 and the new Climate and Energy Package will not reverse this trend. The package also lacks a clear long-term vision to reach its envisaged goal of climate neutrality by 2050. The new, positive structural elements to German policy - a coal phase-out, a carbon price on fuels in buildings and transport, and an overarching climate law - lack sufficient quantitative ambition to meet the government’s targets, let alone the Paris Agreement’s mitigation challenge. On coal, the proposed phase-out schedule of 2038 is almost a decade too slow to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement, and there is even a hint that a new coal-fired power station may go online in the short term. The phase-out schedule was proposed by a multi-stakeholder commission in combination with compensation to local people and companies of up to €50 bn EUR to compensate for the 20 000 jobs that will be lost in the coal industry." Netherlands "The Netherlands is under pressure to slash emissions in sectors such as power generation and agriculture in 2020 after a ruling by a top court made the government a reluctant ‘test case’ for tougher global climate policies. The government of conservative Prime Minister Mark Rutte is working out new measures after the Dutch Supreme Court in December ordered it to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by the end of 2020, compared with 1990 levels, as its fair share to combat climate change. It is a daunting task – latest official figures showed only a 15% drop on 1990 levels by the end of 2018, meaning sharp cuts will be needed in an economy where major emission sources are manufacturing, energy generation, transport and agriculture. The case marked the end of a six-year legal battle by the non-profit Urgenda Foundation and was seen as a landmark moment for climate justice. UN special rapporteur on human rights and the environment David Boyd called it the “most important climate change court decision in the world so far”. Its redumbdent to quote the actions of Mr. trump on climate issues.

Agree, so much for Google enlightening the world, educating the masses and lifting the ignorance of the masses. It seems odd that information and knowledge has spread so quickly about Coronavirus. Yet denial of climate change persists in certain political circles/minds. Science only matters when it can be pigeonholed within that mindset.

I've bruised my heel before hang gliding. I've broken a leg playing football. The heel injury was far more painful. Yeah if the risk of a jail cell for fraud didn't worry you. You could take off the jumpsuit, leave the DZ and tell the attending physician that you had a hard fall at home. An ordinary broken bone is not very life threatening IMO. A multi-compound broken mess of bone protruding from the skin. Might put the insurance issue aside.

Erik Prince Recruits Ex-Spies to Help Infiltrate Liberal Groups From NY times Mar. 7, 2020 "Erik Prince, the security contractor with close ties to the Trump administration, has in recent years helped recruit former American and British spies for secretive intelligence-gathering operations that included infiltrating Democratic congressional campaigns, labor organizations and other groups considered hostile to the Trump agenda, according to interviews and documents. One of the former spies, an ex-MI6 officer named Richard Seddon, helped run a 2017 operation to copy files and record conversations in a Michigan office of the American Federation of Teachers, one of the largest teachers’ unions in the nation. Mr. Seddon directed an undercover operative to secretly tape the union’s local leaders and try to gather information that could be made public to damage the organization, documents show." Trump White House Weighing Plans for Private Spies to Counter “Deep State” Enemies Dec. 4, 2017 from The Intercept (see below) "The Trump administration is considering a set of proposals developed by Blackwater founder Erik Prince and a retired CIA officer — with assistance from Oliver North, a key figure in the Iran-Contra scandal — to provide CIA Director Mike Pompeo and the White House with a global, private spy network that would circumvent official U.S. intelligence agencies, according to several current and former U.S. intelligence officials and others familiar with the proposals. The sources say the plans have been pitched to the White House as a means of countering “deep state” enemies in the intelligence community seeking to undermine Donald Trump’s presidency. The creation of such a program raises the possibility that the effort would be used to create an intelligence apparatus to justify the Trump administration’s political agenda. “Pompeo can’t trust the CIA bureaucracy, so we need to create this thing that reports just directly to him,” said a former senior U.S. intelligence official with firsthand knowledge of the proposals, in describing White House discussions. “It is a direct-action arm, totally off the books,” this person said, meaning the intelligence collected would not be shared with the rest of the CIA or the larger intelligence community. “The whole point is this is supposed to report to the president and Pompeo directly. North, who appears frequently on Trump’s favorite TV network, Fox News, was enlisted to help sell the effort to the administration. He was the “ideological leader” brought in to lend credibility, said the former senior intelligence official. Some of the individuals involved with the proposals secretly met with major Trump donors asking them to help finance operations before any official contracts were signed." The Intercept from Wikipedia How the Intercept Is Fueling the Democratic Civil War Story from Politico Its difficult to fathom the bizarre politics and thinking of the entire above story(s). But it is centered in Washington D.C.

Nah Social economics with a interest in health care economics was what I studied in university. I hear what you're saying about just quoting from other stories. But when specific facts are quoted I always question the source.Always. That lengthy quote never answered the underlying question about why Pharma returns aren't out-sized. But was close. Whenever I paste from a source that I personally didn't write the links are provided if anyone cares to check. Google, no it should be a great leveler of information. But bias, disinformation, propaganda and outright lies. Have infiltrated the search results because website developers know how to pander to the algorithms using the proper jargon.

You're welcome. In the one article I quoted the short time frame "2014 – 2016" would lead most to question the accuracy of the data. But most Pharma companies have had middle of the road returns for the last decade. Ripoff prices suggest gowlerk's most commonly held beliefs that they're earning out-sized returns. But that would normally result in investors pouring into those stocks. So I dig further and Returns on different types of investment in the global pharmaceutical industry Which studies pharma in the US, EU and the rest of the world (ROW) from 1987-2012 the summary at the end is most illustrative of the industry. "Comparing pharmaceutical companies to other companies shows that they have return–cost ratios—measured by qms—which exceed those of the nonpharmaceutical companies only in the United States and in the first half of the 1987–2012 period under investigation. In Europe and the RoW, we do not find significant differences between pharmaceutical companies and other manufacturing companies. The estimated returns on capital expenditures and R&D investments of pharmaceutical companies are higher compared with some other manufacturing industries, indicating that companies in the pharmaceutical industry seem to have some comparative advantage in investing in R&D. We also find evidence that some other industries have higher return–cost ratios than the pharmaceutical industry. The relatively high return–cost ratios suggest that the average company in the pharmaceutical and nonpharmaceutical industries was subject to underinvestment problems and that it could generate higher shareholder value by channeling greater funds to investment. Our estimates of returns on total investment by pharmaceutical companies indicate that pharmaceutical investments create value for shareholders, which is not the case for all industries. As we do not observe overinvestment in the pharmaceutical industry, the results call for a regulatory regime that stimulates further investments.... Another interesting finding is that the returns on investment of pharmaceutical investment decreased over time. This drop is especially pronounced for European firms. .. A second explanation refers to regulatory changes in many countries ranging from Australia to Europe that increased costs and lowered prices (Hailey, 2009). This potential explanation is also consistent with prior work on European companies suggesting that regulatory changes since the mid‐1990s have resulted in lower revenues compared with the United States and thereby impeded incentives for pharmaceutical R&D (Lakdawalla et al., 2009; Sood, de Vries, Gutierrez, Lakdawalla, & Goldman, 2009), which by some estimates amount to $4.96 billion" This study unfortunately doesn't include. "hi-tech", internet commerce and some of the other areas that have generated outsized returns lately.

or Pandemic preppers arm up, 'person with the most ammo wins' The NRA has this to say "at Widener’s, although the company provided eye-opening figures readers in some regions should note. Orders from Michigan are up by 566 percent. Other states with enthusiasts buying at higher-than-normal rates include Connecticut (up 390 percent), Florida at (+383), Kentucky at (+304), and New Jersey (+241). “We are seeing an increase in sales across the board. It’s not product-specific, it’s industry-specific,” Long said. He also provided a breakdown of the cartridges most in demand. Sales of .223 Rem. and 5.56 NATO are up 2,036 percent, .45 ACP has risen 195 percent and the 9 mm increase came in at 110 percent.

Sir: you're missing the point. Of course the R& D would still happen. The industry uses the argument that "obscene profits" are necessary to maintain a US "advantage" in medical/drug innovation. When they lobby in Washington. They have established an advantage because of a general advantage of qualified US education and researchers. Together with the US advantage in equity markets that gave rise to many of the top drug/medical companies in the world. China is starting to chip away at that advantage due to a effort by China’s pharmaceuticals industry is growing up U.S. policymakers worry about China 'weaponizing' drug exports Biotech is high on China’s list of future markets to dominate in their Made in China 2025 policy. Washington is clearly worried. As for Obscene Profits well: " The average return on equity for key industries from 2014 – 2016 shows that biopharma’s profits stand at 16.2%, significantly lower than Computer Sciences (31.6%), Beverages (27.4%), Aerospace/Defense (23.0%), and Trucking (19.1%) while modestly higher than Software System/Applications (15.2%) and Healthcare Support Services (14.4%). ... Internal Rate of Return (IRR) is even more telling. IRR calculates the sales/cash flows resulting from R&D investments, ties R&D and the returns it generates together, and is a more appropriate metric for biopharma productivity. Deloitte reports that the IRR for biopharma R&D has been steadily falling from 10.1% in 2010 to 3.2% in 2017. Even Wall Street hasn’t bought into the “pharma soaring profits” view. Since February 1, 2014, while the Dow has risen 63%, the stock prices of a number of major pharma companies have been muted with Pfizer and Bristol-Myers each growing by about 15%, and Merck and AstraZeneca by roughly 6.5%. Even Lilly’s growth of 43% still lags the Dow. " Perhaps the net ROI for shareholders would be higher in the absence of $$$ spent on lobbying, defending IP theft, etc.

Sir: 7 Disturbing Facts About the Fraser Institute "The Institute has received donations of hundreds of thousands of dollars[15] from foundations controlled by Charles and David Koch, with total donations estimated to be approximately $765,000 from 2006 to 2016.[16] It also received US$120,000 from ExxonMobil in the 2003 to 2004 fiscal period.[17] In 2016, it received a $5 million donation from Peter Munk, a Canadian businessman.[18] In 2012, the Vancouver Observer reported that the Fraser Institute had "received over $4.3 million in the last decade from eight major American foundations including the most powerful players in oil and pharmaceuticals". According to the article, "The Fraser Institute received $1.7 million from 'sources outside Canada' in one year alone, according to the group's 2010 Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) return. Fraser Institute President Niels Veldhuis told The Vancouver Observer that the Fraser Institute does accept foreign funding, but he declined to comment on any specific donors or details about the donations."[1 Fraser Institute’s wait times survey is garbage science When initiating an understanding of a broad international area of study. Its useful to use studies that don't have a horse in the race. Understanding heath care costs are easiest to understand using GDP per capital on an equal dollar basis. This is where I would start: "Health spending ... This indicator is presented as a total and by type of financing (“Government/compulsory”, “Voluntary”, “Out-of-pocket”) and is measured as a share of GDP, as a share of total health spending and in USD per capita (using economy-wide PPPs)."PPPs are the rates of currency conversion that equalize the purchasing power of different currencies by eliminating the differences in price levels between countries. The very first chart in the link above factors for all variables between all countries and factors all purchasing varables. Think the worldwide "Big Mac" ppp comparison.

"Daan Struyven and David Mericle, economists at Goldman Sachs, said the example of Japan could prove instructive as the world’s third largest economy had not suffered a debt crisis, even though it arguably has the most public debt as a share of its GDP in the world. Japan’s government debt to GDP ratio sits at 236% in 2017, more than double that of the U.S., which stands at 108%, according to the International Monetary Fund. “Japan’s experience confirms that a debt crisis is difficult to imagine in a country that issues debt in its own currency, has a flexible exchange rate, and controls its central bank,” wrote Struyven and Mericle. All three features are also shared by the U.S. At the worst vaccines could take three years to become widespread. The Byzantine Empire had no understand as to what was causing the pandemic. The mortality rate substantially higher v Coronavirus. Two quarters and at its worst four quarters of zero or slightly below negative growth is not a reasonable comparable. Besides I always look for the positive. A break on global Co2 emissions and a sweep(Dems) in the upcoming US elections could save lives overall.

The overpayment of drug and medical device R&D goes right to the overall bottom line of those companies. That allows Canada, Australia, India, EU etc. to negotiate lower prices for those same products. The big drug companies may have head offices in Ireland, Switzerland, etc. But the US is still the leader in leading new drug R&D along with medical devices. I personally find the stories of Americans traveling to Canada to buy insulin offensive. Most are not well off, most are elderly and it borders on criminal.It reflects poorly on America. I welcome them and IMO there should be drive through pharmacies on the US border with bus sized capacity. Skyrocketing cost of insulin pushes Americans to buy drug in Canada

apparatchik-an official in a large political organization- for the Republican party the Attorney General- They advise and represent their legislature and state agencies and act as the “People’s Lawyer” for the citizens. Most are elected, though a few are appointed by the governor

It has nothing to do with the fear of skydiving. Ferrari was worried that the other F-1 teams would pay off the tandem instructors to do harm for Ferrari cheating last year. Do rival teams really think Ferrari was ‘cheating’? Explaining the threat that rocked F1 "after seven teams issued a united response in frustration at a confidential settlement between Ferrari and the FIA. Ferrari was accused of “cheating” last season over the advantages created by its power unit, and the FIA kicked into gear.... Considering the FIA’s tendencies to make noise and fanfare about announcements, this investigation was all but swept under the carpet " Cheating to win championships, sounds like the NFL, no Baseball, no elections,Olympics, etc.

Sir, your point was?:How Mike Pence Became A Millionaire From Government Pensions

That not quite true. America has the most expensive health care system. One that indirectly subsides the rest of the world by about 5-10%. Yet has general health treatment outcomes that are below western standards on average and below average rankings of satisfaction as well. In addition, waiting times are generally no better.