Rationing...

It wasn't the government who sold off the wheat. The exporters sold it after the speculators drove the price through the roof.

From a press release the first week of February:

U.S. wheat exporters have sold more than 15 million bushels a week in seven of the last 11 weeks, well above the U.S. Department of Agriculture's weekly target of about 1 million bushels a week.

http://www.news8.net/news/stories/0208/493989.html

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Yes, on the news this morning - the limits imposed by Sam's Club and Costco - were to keep supplies available for the general consuming public. Businesses/restaurants were coming in and buying up all the rice, leaving none for the shopping public.

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You shall judge a man by his foes as well as his friends
~J. Conrad

Well, I sure hope you don't think that's why I wrote this, I don't need saving by anyone but Jesus Christ.

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Well, there sure are quite a few threads that can be spun off this one, very interesting.

As for people using up what they have and coming to those of us who still have water, food, etc. it's quite common over history for a country or civilization to use up something they have and then just invade whoever has it to get some more.

Regarding the subject of black markets, I find when people want something, they are going to get it one way or another. Marijuana has been illegal for decades and everybody knows you can get it freely anywhere. Look how successful prohibition was. Everybody still drank and the government eventually had to repeal the law. The black market is an indicator of the dissatisfaction of the citizens of the status quo. If the government decides to ration something for one reason or another and people want more of it then they are getting, they will find a way to get more, even if it costs more. If they are satisfied with the ration amount, they won't. This is supply and demand still working, although it is artificially affected.

I won't even begin to believe that the government imposes rationing for the "common good". It is for anybody BUT the common person.

Talk to me when the government starts rationing THEMSELVES; only then will I even think about discussing government-imposed rationing.

If Sam's club (or whoever) starts rationing, that is THEIR choice. In a truly free market, another company may step in & provide what item is being rationed by another, maybe at a higher cost, but provide it.

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I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. - Thomas Jefferson

Well I will add my thoughts here for what they are worth. I have seen farms of all kinds turned into housing for people, and most of these homes are built so people can try to keep up with the Joneses or just to say look what I have. Then when we they get more people than the roads can carry and the water table won't support then they star piping in water from somewhere else and pumping the sewage to a plant to be treated and dumped back into the water system. Every morning these folks get up get into their caddies or big suvs or big pickups and drive off into town and complain about the traffic. Now all of you that live around a big city knows about traffic and most of the cars have one person in them. Don't get me wrong as I am not picking on anyone as I have been there and done that. I am just telling it as I see it. I can go a couple miles here and see houses that are so much bigger than the people that live there need it just amazes me where their thinking is. Now rationing water may become nessary but not in the way folks are thinking. You are given so much per person and then the valve is turned off. I don't see just charging more after you use yours working as then you are taking away from those who are saving. When i is gone everyone will suffer even the ones who tried to conserve. It comes dow to the ones with money will get their water for the lawn if the poor have to do without unless the valve is turned off when your amount of water is used up. Same way with gas. The people who can pay for it is still riding around in the big air conditioned suvs and pickups. The higher the price of gasoline goes the less I see of the poorer country folk around here driving except when nessary. I see a big difference in the traffic on the road here at the house, and if you sit and watch the biggest amount of the traffic is still the gas hogs. I have no answer as to where it will all end but I can see this country going into a heck of a depression. Again I hope I didn't offend anyone and if so I am sorry. Sam