http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2010/12/027844.php
HA ha ha ha ha!
Remember the GLOBAL FOOD SHORTAGES of 35 years ago?
by Nathan Natas 26 Replies latest jw friends
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AGuest
THANK you for this thread, dear NNatas (peace to you!). I grew up during a time when all KINDS of "global disasterous" predictions were made. I remember learning to hide under the desks at school ("duck and cover") due to the "nuclear arms race" and impending nuclear doom. Every government building had a nuclear fallout shelter within or in close proximity. People even built private ones and hoarded gas masks, water, and MREs. I remember meeting JWs who had rooms and basements lined with shelves of canned goods, etc., in anticipation of "Armageddon." The Twilight Zone and other programs frequently featured "end of the world" episodes. Marvin Gaye was singing "Mercy, Mercy, Me" and "What's Going On?" and the Stylistics were singing, "People Make the World Go 'Round" (you remember: "Trash man didn't get my trash today... buses on strike wanna raise the fair", etc.). Air pollution was a HUGE concern... and "everyone" was on serious "drugs." The Beatles first told Beethoven to rollover and then called for a "Revolution." Vietnam was going hot and heavy... protests abounded (about just about everything)... folks were striking... rioting... hostages were taken at Olympic games, presidents and other civil rights proponents were assassinated... EXCITING TIMES, man!!
And among all of that... the "shortages." Shortages of metal, gasoline, water, newsprint/paper, and pennies have reigned in my time (the gasoline I believe is always the result of market manipulation by those who produce oil... but I believe the water and paper shortages were/are legit, just due to our polluting the first and exorbitant and wasteful use of both).
But the "shortage" that I remember MOST... because it was totally absurd... was... wait for it... the SUGAR shortage! Yessir, there was sugar shortage when I was in my, oh, say, pre-teen/early teens... when the weirdest panic I've ever experienced was spread: "We're almost out of SUGAR!! NOOOoooooooo!!" And virtually overnight things like candy bars and commerically baked items tripled in price (and have tripled several more times since)... while decreasing in volume, sometimes up to 50%. Remember that?
That particular "shortage" is most remarkable to me because of... wait for it... our knowledge about sugar... and its close cousin, high fructose corn syrup... today! Given what we know now, methinks that shortage (yeah, right) was a GOOD thing. In fact, I don't believe there was sugar shortage at all but rather a decrease in sugar consumption as "America" began to get a little smarter about that condiment/additive... but that "someone" didn't want us to know that. Wonder who? I'll give you a hint: they're wealth/livelihoods depend on the production and consumption of sugar.
Now, I don't profess to know in-depth economics, but there is a very good answer to the question "How do you get folks to rush out and buy something they don't really need, indeed that might actually be BAD for them"? That is... say there's only a limited amount of it. Basic rule of supply and demand.
Ah, well...
Ennywho, given all of the excitement those of us born between 1930 and 1970 have experienced in our lifetime, I would say our children/grandchildren are really living in quite boring times. I mean, when was the last time your child/grandchild had to learn to "duck and cover"?I'm just sayin'...
Again, thanks for the memories and peace to you!
A very "baby boomer" slave of Christ,
SA
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moshe
Where I live , we do have a shortage of the important food---- When you have the Crave, nothing will satisfy, but a --
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hamsterbait
"World Famine -1975" They certainly whacked that one to death. We had a huge hoard of packet soups and cans.
End of the World Cults are such FUN..
HB
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bohm
That other people are wrong from time to time should only come as a surprice to a person who are never wrong.
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WTWizard
I remember 1974 as the year of the shortage. It started with the energy crisis. Oil and gas prices went way up on account of that. Pretty soon, other goods started seeing "shortages"--they realized that if they could create a shortage of their product, they could get more for it. You started seeing fake shortages of everything--coffee prices, sugar (it was more than $5 a 5# bag, in 1974 dollars), and just about everything else. Then, a funny thing happened: Competition. You got price wars as inventory backed up and people cheated on their quotas, driving prices back down. Of course, the Rothschilds and Morgans continued stealing by undermining the value of your dollars, so prices never went back to 1972 levels.
The same thing is happening now. All those "shortages" you hear about (Eggo waffles, pumpkins, and the like) are intended to drive up the prices. Then you get a bumper crop next year, and prices go right back down. All the while, the Rothschilds and Morgans (and their likenesses running the whole banking system) are stealing your money by printing more dollars--hence the prices will never go back to pre-"shortage" levels in dollar terms.
However, a funny thing happens when you price things in ounces of gold. Back in the late 1990s, gold was around $275 an ounce. Today, it is fluctuating around $1375 (and could easily move beyond $1400 and higher at any time). In 1996, gas was around $1.20 a gallon. In ounces of gold, that would translate to $6 a gallon today. Remember, the Rothschilds cannot make gold--so each ounce of gold cannot lose its real value to inflation. Thus, you see that the true cost of goods has actually been falling, after the "shortages" pass, when measured in ounces of gold.
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Mary
And of course, who could forget this gem:
"More recently, the book entitled "Famine-1975!" [by W. & P. Paddock, 1967, pp. 52,55,61.] said concerning today's food shortages: "Hunger is rampant throughout country after country, continent after continent around the undeveloped belt of the tropics and subtropics. Today's crisis can move in only one direction - toward catastrophe. Today hungry nations; tomorrow starving nations." ... "By 1975 civil disorder, anarchy, military dictatorships, runaway inflation, transportation breakdowns and chaotic unrest will be the order of the day in many of the hungry nations."-----The Truth That Leads To Eternal Life, p 88-89, 1968)
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TD
Paul Ehrlich and Rachel Carson scared me far worse as a young man than anything my Witness relatives ever said.
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Gregor
That other people are wrong from time to time should only come as a surprice to a person who are never wrong.
bohm - we understand. Don't beat yourself up over it. You can eliminate a lot of erroneous conclusions if you just follow what I say on any particular subject.
In the early '60's, Rachel Carsons "Silent Spring" led to banning the use of DDT to control mosquitos. Today, Malaria is the number one killer in Africa. At one time it was almost eradicated.
Nathan - your link led me to a PSA about drunk driving. Thanks. I'll be more careful.
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AGuest
PThat other people are wrong from time to time should only come as a surprice to a person who are never wrong.
I've learned that people... are wrong... all the time, dear Bohm (peace to you!)... which is why I no longer put my total trust and faith in them. So far, in MY life, there's only been One who hasn't been wrong, whose following words have proven true with me (of course, I cannot vouch for anyone else):
“To YOU , O men, I am calling, and my voice is to the sons of men. O inexperienced ones, understand shrewdness; and YOU stupid ones, understand heart. Listen, for it is about the foremost things that I speak, and the opening of my lips is about uprightness. For my palate in low tones utters truth itself; and wickedness is something detestable to my lips. All the sayings of my mouth are in righteousness. Among them there is nothing twisted or crooked. All of them are straight to the discerning one, and upright to the ones finding knowledge. T AKE my discipline and not silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold." Proverbs 8:1-4
I have chosen to put my full trust and faith in him... unless and until HE proves to be wrong. Based on his track record with me, however, I don't anticipate that happening (unlike man's track record). My faith in him says it never will. But, again, that's just me. Can't speak for anyone else.
Again, peace to you!
A slave of Christ,
SA