AHC: More U.S. anti-trust action since AT&T divestiture in 1982?

GeographyDude

Gone Fishin'
and looking for PODs other than merely presidents, the S&L crisis of 1990 (Savings & Loans) was a big deal.

The obstacle is that, the thing was so complicated, it might be hard for citizen activism to find a place to bite on first.
 
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edvardas

Antiitrust suits get tied up in court to long, and it is usually all or nothing. I would propose a concentration tax. If one company had more than a ten percent share of the food market they would be charged percentage of the excess
The tax rate would be one forth of the market share over ten percent, If a company had a thirty percent share, it would pay a concentration tax of five percent
 

Alstein

Also they would just pass that to their customers- who would stop them? If they couldn't do that, then they're not effectively a monopoly.
 

GeographyDude

Gone Fishin'
http://www.nytimes.com/1990/09/22/business/fdic-sues-neil-bush-and-others-at-silverado.html

' . . . After appearing to grow rapidly throughout much of the last decade, Silverado collapsed in December 1988 with $2.3 billion in assets. It has been taken over by the Government.

'The lawsuit filed today, one of the F.D.I.C.'s largest claims against directors, accused Mr. Bush and the others of failing to monitor the association properly and engaging in ''unsafe and unsound'' practices ''designed to achieve the appearance of growth at the expense of the long-term health of the association.'' . . . '
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This was the president's son Neil Bush (and brother of George W.).

I remember 1990 for the Savings and Loan Crisis, although this hsppened obviously earlier. This New York Times article was Sept. 1990.

The S&L Crisis was systemic, and it involved a lot of loans for real estate.
 

GeographyDude

Gone Fishin'
http://www.azcentral.com/story/azdc/2014/04/06/keating-five-scandal-dogs-mccain/7328163/

' . . . McCain is the only member of the "Keating Five" who is still serving on Capitol Hill. The other four retired in 1990s: U.S. Sens. Alan Cranston, D-Calif.; Dennis DeConcini, D-Ariz.; John Glenn, D-Ohio; and Donald Riegle, D-Mich. . . '
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John McCain was not a national leader way back in the late '80s. But Alan Cranston was a former presidential candidate (in 1984) and as senator from California, serves the most populous state. John Glenn is senator from Ohio and very famous astronaut.

Yes, I'd say this story potentially has legs.
 

GeographyDude

Gone Fishin'
countrystillAorig750.jpg

Going back to the mid-'80s and agriculture and food, the movie Country starring Sam Shepard and Jessica Lange opened on Sept. 28, 1984.
 

GeographyDude

Gone Fishin'
Mellencamp-scarecrow.jpg


John Mellencamp's album Scarecrow was released on Sept. 5, 1985.

George Green and John Mellencamp co-authored the title track "Rain on the Scarecrow" which was released as a single on April 26, 1986.

Scarecrow on a wooden cross blackbird in the barn
Four hundred empty acres that used to be my farm
I grew up like my daddy did my grandpa cleared this land
When I was five I walked the fence while grandpa held my hand

[Chorus]
Rain on the scarecrow blood on the plow
This land fed a nation this land made me proud
And son I'm just sorry theres no legacy for you now
Rain on the scarecrow blood on the plow
Rain on the scarecrow blood on the plow

The crops we grew last summer weren't enough to pay the loans
Couldn't buy the seed to plant this spring and the farmers bank foreclosed
Called my old friend schepman up to auction off the land
He said john its just my job and I hope you understand
Hey calling it your job ol hoss sure dont make it right
But if you want me to Ill say a prayer for your soul tonight
And grandmas on the front porch swing with a
Bible in her hand Sometimes I hear her singing take me to the promised land
When you take away a mans dignity he cant work his fields and cows

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See also . .

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=3754

http://www.song-database.com/chhist.php?sid=1149
 
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GeographyDude

Gone Fishin'
Insurance Problems Almost Doomed Concert : Farm Aid II Draws 40,000 Despite Heat

Los Angeles Times, Dennis McDougal, July 5, 1986.

http://articles.latimes.com/1986-07-05/news/mn-20197_1_farm-aid

' . . . Country pop star Willie Nelson's marathon concert to benefit debt-ridden family farmers did not appear to raise anywhere near the $9 million earned by last September's first Farm Aid concert, however. Early estimates put the Farm Aid II gross at less than $2 million. . . '

' . . . compounded by slow sales of the $20 general admission tickets, forced organizers to move the site of the concert last week from the 80,000-seat University of Texas Memorial Stadium in nearby Austin to the Manor Downs horse race track, where the five-story stage was erected in less than 72 hours. . . '

' . . . The day-long concert was televised over the Video Hit One cable television network, which has an estimated 13 million subscribers. But major network coverage of Farm Aid generally was upstaged by Liberty Weekend. As with the first Farm Aid concert at the University of Illinois last fall, the financial success of Farm Aid II will depend on contributions called in on a toll-free telephone number that was flashed regularly during the telecast.

'More than 200 cases of heat exhaustion were reported, . . . '
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July 4, 1986, was also the Tall Ships in the New Year Harbor and the 100th anniversary birthday of the Statue of Liberty. So, you're rolling the dice and competing with a lot.

In addition, you need to be political to get things done, but then the mainstream media tends to shy away. Probably all these aspects and more!
 

GeographyDude

Gone Fishin'
Analytical Engine said:
The video doesn't work, and the link below just goes to YouTube's main page.
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Thanks for the heads up.

The bare link works on my older iphone, will try to get to a desktop tonight.

In the meantime, video can be found by searching on youtube for:

Farm Aid III

Or, full title:

Arlo Guthrie, Willie Nelson, Neil Young & More - This Land Is Your Land (Live at Farm Aid 1987)
 
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GeographyDude

Gone Fishin'

I had typed in letter O versus number 0! Sorry about that.

There's still the unresolved mystery of why the naked link works on my older iphone but not on a desktop.
 
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GeographyDude

Gone Fishin'
https://www.farmaid.org/concert/past-farm-aid-concerts/

1989… FARM AID ON THE ROAD

In 1989, Farm Aid President Willie Nelson took Farm Aid on the road for 16 of his own show dates, holding press conferences at each site to bring attention to the ongoing farm crisis, local farm issues, and future farm policy. Spotlighting area farmers and their struggles, he invited the media to meet with local farmers and discuss the issues facing them, drawing support for local Farm Aid-funded organizations. Farmers from New York to Oregon met with Willie and the media to assert that the farm crisis was not over, and that the effects were still being felt across rural America.
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Wow. This is a political movement.

So, what went wrong?
 
The Machine

The Machine

GeographyDude said:
Wow. This is a political movement.

So, what went wrong?
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The farm crisis got better? IIRC, there was a lot of farmland speculation in the early 80s, which farmers engaged in as well as outside investors. Inevitably, when the bubble popped, the farmers were left with land that was worth a lot less than what they paid for it/owed on it, and weren't able to pay the mortgage with just the crops they grow. Eventually, I assume most of them ended up filing bankruptcy.
 

GeographyDude

Gone Fishin'
The Machine said:
. . . IIRC, there was a lot of farmland speculation in the early 80s, which farmers engaged in as well as outside investors. . .
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I think there was a lot of speculation in general in the early '80s, although I bet actual farmers were significantly less guilty of this than average.

As an example of the speculation in general, around (?) 1980 one of the auto executives in David Halberstam's The Reckoning said, we can make more investing in money than building cars.
 

GeographyDude

Gone Fishin'
The Midwest Farm Crisis of the 1980s

Jason Manning

http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id395.htm

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' . . . In the early 1970s, lowered trade barriers coupled with record Soviet purchases of American grain resulted in a sharp increase in agricultural exports. Farm incomes and commodity prices soared. [FN3] The removal of restrictions on Federal Land Bank lending, coupled with increased lending by other entities for farmland purchases in the Seventies, led to rising land values. Conveniently low interest rates persuaded many farmers -- and would-be farmers -- to go deeply into debt on the assumption that commodity prices and land values would continue to rise. [FN4] . . . '
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' . . . In the high times of the 1970s, the number of "middle level" farmers -- those whose income ranged from $40,000 to $500,000 a year -- had increased by an astonishing 250%. Numbering 675,000 by 1985, they were the hardest hit by the debt crisis. [FN9] . . . '
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The brother is using footnotes. He calls his piece an essay, but it's really an attempt at citizen journalism and good for him :) , whether I agree with him across the board or not.
 
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