We need to fire off rebuttals to this idiot.

[TheBisonator]

Check out this mentally deranged letter to the Forum today:

http://www.in-forum.com/Opinion/articles/149749

What she is saying goes against everything NDSU is trying to accomplish in the tech sector and job development, and has accomplished in the past 5 years.

If we could cut the number of people in North Dakota who have this kind of belief system in half, we would be one of the most dynamic, progressive states in the nation.

[kchats]

Some people are just idiots that scream about how great it is to live where they do hiding behind their locked doors. You can't shelter yourself from everything you just need to be aware of your surroundings. Also home values increase as business opportunities increase, so I guess it is a double edge sword.

[02Bison]

Sure she exagerrated a bit to make her point, but how does stating the general truth about things make a person an idiot? The truth of the matter is right now the rich are getting richer and the rest are getting left behind. All these development initiatives are great for those they benefit, but they benefit so few in the big picture and they benefit those who are already best positioned to help themselves without such initiatives. Rapid development is a major cause of inflation. It leads to too much money chasing too few goods, thus furthering the gap between the minority "haves" and the majority "have nots".

[Jeffdaryl3rd]

People like this, as has been said earlier, are simply total idiots.

[Herd_Mentality]

It's just sad that there are so many people in this state that don't realize the water is going to run short because of the increased use in agriculture long before what other development will do. Ethanol production will only make it worse.

[Till]

I'm getting the sudden urge to petition Walmart to build a superstore in Grassy Butte.....

[Jeffdaryl3rd]

Don't even get me started on Wal-Mart. One of the most evil companies in the country.

[Junior]

It's just sad that there are so many people in this state that don't realize the water is going to run short because of the increased use in agriculture long before what other development will do. *Ethanol production will only make it worse.

A couple of factual statements would have gone a long way to help the credibility of that opinion letter. *Lacking that, I view it as no more than a doom and gloom letter and I turn the page. *Agreed, agrigultural use of water has a much larger impact in the major production agricultural states of the Midwest. *We are already starting to see it in the plains states. * One of the things driving the comodity prices right now is continued supply pressure because the US has areas of drought and Austrailia is in one of the dries periods on record. * *

OFF TOPIC BELOW

btw, in my opinion, don't invest in ethanol. *Someone is going to lose their ass at some point. *It is merely a politically driven bandaid. *If the US government were truley serious about using ethanol as a way to reduce consumption of foreign oil they would drop the 50 cent a gallon import tax on Brazillian ethanol. *Which, is made from sugar cane and is much more economically feasible than corn ethanol. *

[IowaBison]

I died when I saw that it was written by someone (the only one) in Grassy Butte.


The letter sounds like it is written by a high school teenage girl who is an expert in hysterics. That or she went to the big city got her butt kicked and is now extremely cynical.

Why does growth lead to crime? Higher taxes? Lower standards of living?

[Junior]

No need to worry about develpment in Grassy Butte. ;D

[bisonranch]

Unfortunately there are a lot of people in ND with an attitude against progress. *There's a concept in Bismarck to add a 16-storey Canad Inn to the Civic Center and comments from some people were that they don't want anything new in town and like Bis just the way it is. *I've also heard people say if they wanted all these new stores that are (finally) coming to town, they'd move to Fargo. *Lots of small minds, but they're in the minority.




OFF TOPIC BELOW

btw, in my opinion, don't invest in ethanol. *Someone is going to lose their ass at some point. *It is merely a politically driven bandaid. *If the US government were truley serious about using ethanol as a way to reduce consumption of foreign oil they would drop the 50 cent a gallon import tax on Brazillian ethanol. *Which, is made from sugar cane and is much more economically feasible than corn ethanol. *

I've wondered about this too. *I've got farming in my blood, but with all the government help to get these ethanol plants up across the country, and the fact that farmers are subsidized for many crops (don't know about corn) doesn't seem like a solution and more of a band aid. * E85 is a joke too, it's always 30 cents less than regular gas no matter what the price. *Shouldn't only around 15% of the E85 price follow the petro price?? *Sounds like a political bandaid to me too instead of a solution.

[IowaBison]

I don't have a problem with ethanol, but ethanol policy (at both the state and national level) that's another issue.

Saying the nation must produce 5 billion gallons of ethanol by year X? That's about as screwed up a policy as one could devise.

Why not say that our nation must produce 250 million pairs of capri pants, stainless steel ranges, or have 10,000 tax preparation services?



The state of north dakota subsidizing prices at the pump until the funds authorized run out? Why not just write the check out to wholesalers?

[Junior]

I've wondered about this too. *I've got farming in my blood, but with all the government help to get these ethanol plants up across the country, and the fact that farmers are subsidized for many crops (don't know about corn) doesn't seem like a solution and more of a band aid. * E85 is a joke too, it's always 30 cents less than regular gas no matter what the price. *Shouldn't only around 15% of the E85 price follow the petro price?? *Sounds like a political bandaid to me too instead of a solution.


I supposed I should clearify my position. *While I believe short term, ethanol can be a good thing and a nice stepping stone, I think the bigger picture leads us away from it unless better technology and sources are developed. *I just don't think corn ethanol is going to cut it. *If you had to replace all the gallons of gasoline used per year with corn ethanol, something like 90% of the US acres would need to be planted to corn. *Increase demand for corn for ethanol use also puts pressure on the feed corn market used for livestock. *Increased feed inputs result in higher prices at your local grocery store. *

While work is being done to develop other sources of ethanol such as switch grass and biomasses, the biggest problem right now is storage to process time. *Corn can be stored for months before being processed without degradation in the amout of ethanol that can be extracted. Switch grass and other biomass crops have a limited shelf life and if left in longterm storage the amount of ethanol that can be produced from them is greatly reduced. * Biodiesel looks to be a better alternative to me. *From an engery per gallon standpoint, peto diesel is the highest followed by biodiesel, gasoline and then ethanol.

Sorry again to get off topic. *This stuff is near and dear to me. * I grew up on a family farm that went out of business in 2001 and currently work in the ag equipment industry. *So, the ag industry around the world directly affects our bottom line.* *

[kchats]

Hey you can do what 02Bison wants and tax the hell out of everybody to pay for the non-working. I don't go to work everyday to pay for people sitting at home on their A$$es, I work for my family.

For those of you bamboozled enough to not think the rich are paying their fair share, here is a breakdown of who actually pays taxes.

The top 1% pay over a third, 34.27% of all income taxes. (Up from 2003: 33.71%) The top 5% pay 54.36% of all income taxes (Up from 2002: 53.80%). The top 10% pay 65.84% (Up from 2002: 65.73%). The top 25% pay 83.88% (Down from 2002: 83.90%). The top 50% pay 96.54% (Up from 2002: 96.50%). The bottom 50%? They pay a paltry 3.46% of all income taxes (Down from 2002: 3.50%). The top 1% is paying nearly ten times the federal income taxes than the bottom 50%! And who earns what? The top 1% earns 16.77% of all income (2002: 16.12%). The top 5% earns 31.18% of all the income (2002: 30.55%). The top 10% earns 42.36% of all the income (2002: 41.77%); the top 25% earns 64.86% of all the income (2002: 64.37%) , and the top 50% earns 86.01% (2002: 85.77%) of all the income.

[Gully]

[quote author=jeffdaryl3rd link=1166351402/0#6 date=1166380104]Don't even get me started on Wal-Mart. *One of the most evil companies in the country.[/quote

Wal*Mart has done more for our countries productivity in the last 10-15 years than any other company.....I don't think of that as evil.

[WYOBISONMAN]

Politics........Locked