America's Epidemic

I should probably be doing homework right now, but the Steelers are on and I am thoroughly engrossed with a new book I just picked up. "Republic, Lost:  How Money Corrupts Congress -- and a Plan to Stop It," by Lawrence Lessig has to be one of the best works of political criticism I have read in a while.  From what I have gathered so far, the author shows no sign of bias and is completely objective, or as objective as one can be, with his argument.  Moreover, he cites ideas stemming from Libertarian, Conservative, and Liberal ideologies.  I am pretty sure this only works because the issue at hand is grand and impacts all sides of the political spectrum. Still, I finally feel there is someone out there with a sound head on his shoulders.

But this isn't just about the book; it's about something the author touches on, something that I personally have strong convictions for.  This has to do with our obesity epidemic and its correlation to the government subsidies that perpetually exacerbate the woes our country finds itself in today.  Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is one of the country's biggest agricultural companies. It is a conglomerate of organizations that handles the production and supply of foods such as grain, rice, corn, and other products.  In 2009, their total revenues exceeded $69 billion. According to a Cato Institute study by James Bovard called, "Archer Daniels Midland: A Case Study in Corporate Welfare," at least 43 percent of those profits are from products "heavily subsidized or protected by the American Government."    What does this mean?  Well it means thanks to tariffs imposed by our government to protect American production of certain goods that on top of it, are subsidized by us, the tax payers, ADM is able to produce foods such as high fructose corn syrup at low costs.

Have you ever wondered why you see a link between obesity and individuals in low socioeconomic classes?  That's because our government assists in the production of cheap foods that are extremely pernicious to our health.  Now anything in moderation is fine, in my personal opinion, but here we have a nation that consumes prodigious amounts of foods thanks to the economic distortions committed by our government.  Moreover, not only does the cheap production of corn allow for an abundance of soda pop, chips, and gum drops, but it also increases the ability to feed more cattle on large industrialized farms.  So while government subsidies kill off the smaller farms, we also continue to feed cows more corn.  Cows evolved to ingest grass, not corn, and while they try to digest it, they also become victims of bacteria brewing inside their stomachs.  But don't worry, we can just fix this by increasing the amount of antibiotics we feed our cattle.

Wait a second, isn't there reason why doctors don't prescribe antibiotics to us every single time we have a cough or a cold? Yes, there is, and that is because the more antibiotics we take, the more we encourage the development of drug resistant diseases.  Did you ever wonder why e-coli is such a big problem if all of these animals are taking antibiotics? 

Not only do we have a market that allows individuals to consume price distorted, unhealthy products, but we are also more at risk for disease.  You may think that I am just some health nut who wants everyone to be healthy. Well, you're right, I am.  But there is more to it.  What happens when we have the health issues we do, especially the ones that are encouraged by the recent obesity "epidemic?"  They impact the health care system, and thus increase the cost of it.

So while everyone sits here moaning about health care, maybe we should take some preemptive steps to mitigate our dependency on the drugs and doctors.  Maybe we should encourage policy that eradicates this corporate welfare, policy that will allow foods to be produced at an actual market price, and give a fair chance to goods that are truly beneficial to our health. 

For those of you who align with the Democrats or the Republicans, I respect the fact that you choose to be politically active.  But these subsidies are the result of both parties being easily swayed by lobbyists on Capitol Hill. Now there is a difference between campaign contributions and straight bribery, but even without an obvious agreement of quid pro quo, it still occurs due to a gift based system of reciprocity.  Think about it, a friend gets you something, and even though they say its no big deal, you are socially bonded to the norm that something must be given back in order to show gratitude. And that's what happens on Capitol Hill. Subconsciously or not, we remember favors. 

Now I do not believe our government consists of a bunch of evil people who reap the wealth while all of us get  sick.  That is ludicrous, and if you know anyone that thinks that you should probably slap them. It is a simple as this, our leaders are good people.  They all, or at least, most of them got involved because they cared, because they wanted to make America a better place.  But we have a system that is corrupt, and no matter who enters that system, the corruption will take over.  It's similar to how many of us become dependent on family at times of need. It’s all a matter of how things are structured, and where the power lays. 

I believe in our government and I believe in this countries foundation and ideals.  We have potential to become a nation full of brilliant, hardworking individuals that follow the cause of our founding fathers.  We have enough wealth to make this world, our world, a better place.  But before we go off and try fixing problems that you can't fix with guns and bombs, let’s take care of the issues we face at home first.  Only then can we be true leaders within this global civilization.

Okay, that's it, that's my rant.

Enjoy your Week,

Best wishes,

Mark