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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 16/04/2013 06:55, spike wrote:<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<span style="color:#1F497D">I had an idea related to my earlier
urging you to not buy honey this year: do buy almonds. They
will cost a lot this year, but my idea is this: if we go ahead
and buy overpriced almonds, then the almond growers will be
more able to borrow capital with their almond groves as surety
for the loans. If so, they can use the borrowed money to
invest in stationary hives. Then the almond growers would be
less likely to extract honey, which would reduce risk from
neonics in the honey-replacement syrup.</span></div>
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<br>
Ah, now we have a chance to get into a good, old-fashioned
libertarian rage! Because this won't work, because of... government
central planned economics.<br>
<br>
I kid you not. Take a look at<br>
<a
href="http://www.almondboard.com/Handlers/HandlerServices/MarketingOrder/VolumeRegulation/Pages/Default.aspx">http://www.almondboard.com/Handlers/HandlerServices/MarketingOrder/VolumeRegulation/Pages/Default.aspx</a><br>
The Almond Board is controlling the almond production as per a
federal marketing order. They literally take a sizeable chunk of the
production from growers, decide what the optimum price should be to
have an "orderly" market, and sell it to that price. Growers are not
allowed to just sell their production to whoever they want for
whatever price they agree on.<br>
<br>
The Economist has some eye-opening articles about the raisin case:<br>
<a
href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/04/economist-explains-why-america-regulate-trade-raisins">http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/04/economist-explains-why-america-regulate-trade-raisins</a><br>
<a
href="http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21574522-supreme-court-grapples-tiny-fruit-de-minimis-curat-lex">http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21574522-supreme-court-grapples-tiny-fruit-de-minimis-curat-lex</a><br>
<br>
So, in this case I think one can make a case that government
planning is killing bees. Because I am pretty confident that this
breaks the price mechanism that you mentioned: more almond sales
will not lead to correspondingly higher prices that will allow the
growers to have more bees. Rather, the board will dampen this effect
(since this might be bad for the marzipan industry, or whatever).<br>
<br>
<br>
(The almond tree outside St. Mary's cathedral here in Oxford is
*finally* blossoming.<br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/arenamontanus/2284705312/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/arenamontanus/2284705312/</a><br>
I will check for bees, but in my experience Oxford bees are pretty
indoorsy. In fact, some live in the lion's mouth:<br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/arenamontanus/3604205031/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/arenamontanus/3604205031/</a>
). <br>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Anders Sandberg,
Future of Humanity Institute
Philosophy Faculty of Oxford University </pre>
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