Is Fair Trade A Farce?
SUMMER JUSTICE SERIES
Part 2: Coffee and Commies and Nazis, Oh My!
When Adolf Hitler’s name is dropped, you probably don’t immediately think of Starbucks. Don’t worry latte lovers, I don’t have any secret demons to reveal about the top coffee establishment in the world. You may be surprised, however, to learn the interesting tale that bridges the gap between Nazi Germany and your favorite Frappuccino.
We’re in part 2 of a series and following some ideas by Julie Clawson, author of last year’s Everyday Justice (IVP), a book about the impact our decisions can have on folks all over the world.
You might not think of coffee as a world changer, but individuals all over the planet believe this hot commodity to actually be a consistent cause of injustice. After pouring over some facts, I’m not so sure about that. Regardless, we should examine what we know with open minds.
Many right-leaning folks assume that topics like fair trade and social justice are simply machinations of the left. Many lefties just want to find injustice everywhere they turn, so they have an excuse to tell rich people why they’re so terrible. Either way, this issue warrants investigation. After oil, coffee is the world’s second most valuable traded commodity.
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Many of you have probably seen the Fair Trade label on coffee products. The stated goal of that movement is to provide coffee farmers with a decent income for their work. Most of these poor farmers toil in Latin America, but they didn’t always struggle to earn a decent wage.
For most of the 20th century, Western nations abided by agreements to ensure good wages for coffee farmers. An International American Coffee Agreement (IACA) was established way back during World War II. The fear was that if poor people weren’t paid they might turn to Nazi Germany or some other fascist group for help. The IACA was dead by 1948, and coffee prices declined into the 1950s.
Cold War fears of communism became all too real by 1959 when Fidel Castro took power in nearby Cuba. By that time, African nations were also pressuring the international community for help. JFK took office and America began backing the International Coffee Agreement (ICA), another attempt to fix prices in order to prevent instability in Third World nations that could turn to communist powers if they got desperate enough.
The ICA had a sorted history and plenty of problems to go around yet kept prices up enough until 1989 when communism proved to be one of the worst failures in human history and the Soviet Union fell apart. That was great news for Eastern Europeans and freedom lovers, but without any type of agreement coffee prices soon took another swan dive. Those poor coffee farmers again faced the challenge of getting paid a fair price for their labor.
Enter Fair Trade Certified Coffee.
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The goal of Fair Trade Coffee is to ensure a good living wage by assuring a floor for coffee prices. Think of it as coffee insurance. The program involves other things like access to credit and more. In the past decade, a lot of big money has gotten behind the fair trade label. Retailers such as Starbucks, Sam’s Club, Green Mountain, McDonald’s and many more include coffee products with the guarantee to assist struggling farmers.
The alleged moral dilemma comes in when someone tells you that if you drink coffee without a fair trade label you are actually endorsing evil practices of big companies who cheat laborers out of their profits. If we want to alleviate the pain of some 25 million bean growers worldwide, they say, be sure to purchase the Fair Trade label.
That might be true if we knew the system worked, but critics of Fair Trade have emerged from both sides of the political spectrum. Read more »
Healthcare… Hmm.
So the healthcare bill passed. I feel like I should say something profound, but there’s nothing really much to say. Are you surprised? This is what you voted for.
For those of you super excited about this new legislation, you won’t see any problems or potential pitfalls ahead. You don’t think the lessons of history apply because, after all, we’re Americans. We’ll do it better than all those other countries. We’ll get it right.
For those of you who just don’t care about this type of political stuff, why start caring now? After all, you’ve never got involved before and things worked out just fine. This time won’t be any different. Right?
The rest of you probably aren’t too happy as this near trillion-dollar behemoth makes its way up to the White House for a giddy President Obama to sign. Some of you are despairing; some ready to scrap.
The rest of this year might top the insanity of the past decade in which we’ve already seen so many political battles along fiercely divided lines. The conflict over the next few months will challenge our system in ways never before seen. The Supreme Court will be involved. Over 30 states are already protesting, threatening lawsuits. Democrats who voted for the bill might very well get axed in the political bloodbath quite possible in November’s elections.
Some folks seem to be losing their m
inds in these times. I feel bad for those who put all of their faith in their country or government. World-changers like yesterday’s vote tend to dominate people’s focus, but there’s a larger issue here. There are more important things than what conniving politicians are up to. To me, the real issue is about all the folks so desperate for so much from above. When they look up their gaze stops at the elevated perches of politicians who build careers on promises that aren’t theirs to make.
Where do all of these desperate masses come from? Why have we left it to a dysfunctional government to fix all of society’s problems?
I understand that a lot of the “needy” people are slugs, losers even who waste their lives away waiting for the next bailout. They game the system and add to the cost paid by the rest of us. On the other hand, there are truly needy folks all around us who really need the help of their neighbors. In so many cases we stopped taking care of them long ago.
We are the ones who are supposed to pick up the slack. The people hurting all around us should find solace and comfort in their families and communities and churches. All of the honest solutions must start at the simplest, individual level. We each have to stop complaining about what we deserve, whining about how terrible our lives are as we exist at a level of wealth that tops 99% of the rest of the world. We’re out of our minds! Read more »
Sorry Florida: No Sex With Porcupines
Florida is easy to pick on. I think a lot of us outside the Sun Belt like to cast aspersions on states with nice weather just like a lot of folks like to ridicule supermodels and athletes to feel better about themselves. While having some fun with Florida’s python hunting season, I discovered a long list of cr
azy laws still on the books in the Sunshine State.
Some of these ordinances are more strange than disturbing. Did you know that in Miami it’s illegal for a man to wear any type of strapless gown? How about the Tampa Bay restriction that forbids eating cottage cheese after 6 p.m. on Sundays? Hard to believe isn’t it? Women can also get fined for falling asleep under a hair dryer. The salon owner gets in trouble too.
Perhaps the most inexplicable law of all is the prohibition of having sexual relations with a porcu
pine. I would love to know the true life events that led a lawmaker to feel the necessity to ban human-porcupine intercourse. Now, I am no big fan of far-reaching government controls, but I do happen to think that avoiding this type of behavior is a good idea.
Sometimes these rules are just misinterpreted. For example, some college spring breakers may totally misunderstand a Sarasota mandate that you may not catch crabs. This one’s about shellfish gang.
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To be fair, Florida isn’t the only state with super bizarro laws. You can find ridiculous rules just about everywhere.
Alabama has a decent collection of crazy rules. I know, shocking right? Although incestuous marriages are permitted, bear wrestling matches and spitting in front of the opposit
e sex are not. That basically means you can marry your sister, just don’t spit in front of her. Also, when in Alabama be sure to never wear a fake moustache that causes laughter in church, and under no circumstances are you to have an ice cream cone in your back pocket. Laugh if you want, but I think that’s good advice for ice cream lovers everywhere.
You can find some great laws on the other side of the country as well. In California, for example, it’s illegal to shoot at animals from a moving vehicle unless the target is a whale. I would love to hear the discussion that led to that one. Like we have such a whale-overcrowding issue. Did the men sitting around the table agree to the first part until they thought, “You know, that’s a good law but what if one of us finally gets a clean shot at a whale while driving down the coast?”
You can find more of these from all across our fruited plain. Indiana has its fair share, but I do think they are really handcuffing the service industry by outlawing barbers from threatening to cut off kid’s ears. How else are you supposed to get them to sit still?
You can go on like this for a while. I don’t even want to mess with Texas. Some of you shouldn’t be judgmental here though. I’m looking at you Illinois. Read more »
Almost A Century Of Reagan
The last man to win the presidency by capturing 49 states would have turned 99 today. The anti-Reagan movement has tossed and turned over the past two decades, but it’s quite okay to call the 40th president what he was: Super Awesome.
Here’s a small dose from a healthy batch of the kind of medicine America could use these days. The first clip is taken from his farewell address of January 1989. The second shortie comes from an old-fashioned press conference when reporters challenged political leaders.
20th Anniversary Of The Wall’s Fall: Thanks For Playing Communism
Let’s see if I can slip one past the censors here like Adrian Cronauer in Good Morning Vietnam. The Berlin Wall–the very symbol of the Cold War between capitalism and communism–came down twenty years ago today. You won’t hear too much about this monstrously historic day from media types hell-bent on leading America towards some of the same failed ideas symbolized by that wa
ll. You also won’t hear about it from President Obama who is skipping the international celebration of the event! What?
Well, forgive me if I’d like to celebrate the failure of the Soviet Union and the victory, yes victory, of America and the free world in the Cold War led by President Reagan. Such statements may shock your American sensibilities, so let’s check in on Europe where they are prominently celebrating this historic anniversary, the commemoration of the day freedom won out, when our open system conquered the veiled evil, yes evil, of the Soviet’s communist empire.
The Berlin celebration will balance glitz with sobriety. World leaders such as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Sarkozy, Russian President Medvedev, and more will be there to speak. Yet Obama won’t. As the German news publication Der Spiegel put it, “Barrack is too busy.”
Obama has already made more international trips in his first year than Bush and Clinton combined, yet he doesn’t have time to go to Berlin. Now, thanks to a little something called high school, I know a thing or two about getting blown off. I’ve heard plenty of excuses in the “I have to wash my hair all weekend” mode. So I feel qualified to say that Obama is full of it. Sorry Berlin. Like Molly Ringwald in Pretty In Pink, you can keep putting on all the makeup you want, but sometimes he just isn’t going to show no matter what he says.
This just in from the Not Speaking Of Makeup department: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is attending in Obama’s place. Oh goodie. Read more »
Wanna Fix The Economy? Start With Gym Class
You’ve probably heard by now that Americans of today are the fattest civilization in world history. Those extra pounds come at a cost to our health
and pocketbooks. We need to help set our kids on the right track to avoid some scary trends in their future.
The NFL Network got me curious about all this with an ongoing advertising blitz to keep gym in school. Kurt Warner smiles and tells us our kids aren’t getting enough exercise. Okay, I think. Then I see Hines Ward, Super Bowl hero and newly elected “Dirtiest Player In Football” by his peers, along with other football stars running in thirty-second slow motion chunks with a bunch of kids. I wonder, have schools really been eliminating gym class and physical exercise? I process. This is the American public school system. Congress is involved. I conclude that yep, if there’s a wrong option to be pursued, our politicians will run that sick rabbit down like greyhounds on a fast track.
I hear you already, oh defender of government. Here he goes again, connecting fat kids with government while bashing politicians. You’re right. I’ll spare you my tales as a No Child Left Behind contractor and the pros and cons of that legislation. I’ll also try to tread lightly over our government in school is destroying our future pamphleteering. It’s really quite simple though, and it goes like this.
Call it EduClaytion’s Razor. Maybe you’ve heard of Ockham’s Razor, that medieval scholar who decided that if you have two or more alternatives when trying to figure out a solution, just pick the simplest explanation. Well, with EduClaytion’s Razor, whenever you have to figure out what went wrong in a particular situation, and the government is at all a character in the story, then go with the politicians involved (they’ll be the ones telling you they can make things better) and figure out what they did this time.
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The NFL Network’s site for the Keep Gym program clearly lists some facts about the importance of this drive to keep kids active. You don’t have to be a child psychologist to know that video games (and I’m a big fan) and computers have kept a lot of young people (old peeps for that matter) indoors. But consider these lowlights.
- Childhood obesity has tripled since 1980
- “Health care providers are finding more and more children with type 2 diabetes and other conditions stemming from obesity and inactivity that were previously diagnosed almost entirely in adults aged 40 years or older.”
- “Current annual medical costs related to obesity total $147 billion nationally…”
- Unfit and overweight kids perform worse academically than students who score well on fitness tests.
There’s a ton of meat (forgive the pun) in those four points, but consider that while as calories increase:
“The percentage of students who attend daily PE dropped from 42% in 1991 to 28% in 2003. Fewer than 8% of U.S. middle schools provide daily physical education for the entire school year.”
If anybody needs to run it’s junior high students. In America, health problems equal money problems, but moral and monetary issues are also connected. Develop these thoughts on your own, but obesity is only one side of this story. We aren’t even mentioning consequences of hormonal frustration and pent-up aggression. Maybe you’ve heard about increasing violence in our schools. It’s almost like our political and educational leaders want kids to be as screwed up as possible heading into life. Read more »
Obama’s Uh-Oh Of The Month
The results are in. For those of you unaware, yesterday was actually an election day. If you missed it, don’t worry. It’s only the staple of our entire republican way of life in which we give all power to elected representatives in a free and fair process that is the hallmark of democracy. Whew. Where was I?
Oh yeah, the Democrats got trounced. Not surprising if you read history books. This trend is common. As a matter of fact, you’ve perhaps heard that in all America’s history, each time a political party takes the White House (i.e. Dems in 2008), that party loses the following midterm elections. The only two exceptions are FDR and George W. Bush. Roosevelt had the country’s attention during the Great Depression while Bush rocked America’s approval following 9/11.
So independents in key states broke for the GOP last night. That simply lines up with our history, a two century string of checks and balances where the winners eventually lose and the losers can usually make a comeback.
You can read any of a thousand articles for details, but here’s the important basics you should know to gather the meaning of these elections.
- Obama ‘s influence takes a hit. He personally campaigned a good deal for his party, most notably Democratic gubernatorial candidates in NJ (Corzine) and Virginia (Deeds). They both lost even with the president’s backing. Read more »
Food, Inc. Wow.
I eat animals just about everyday. I believe we have dominion over animals but cruelty isn’t included in that responsibility. I think we should be good stewards of the earth but a lot of environmentalists are out and out liars. I also feel revulsion when I se
e those reports about how animals are mistreated for bigtime agribusiness. What’s an omnivore to do?
I’m challenged to consider how I feel about these things because I just finished watching Food, Inc., one of the best documentaries I’ve ever watched. [Note: Link to view the film can be found at the end of this post]. I won’t be joining any causes anytime soon, and director Robert Kenner didn’t set out to create a propaganda piece for some organization. The film attempts to answer one main question: Where does our food come from?
I skip most of these projects when I know I’m going to be bombarded with punishing images of sick cows and chicken massacres only to be told in the end that I’m a horrible person. Food, Inc. is not about that. As a matter of fact, one of the main scenes that hooked me was a brief interview early in the film with Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation).
I expected the preaching to begin, but Schlosser (who I know very little about) was seated at a diner trying to decide what he wanted to eat. He chose a hamburger with fries and took a healthy bite. At once I knew I was going to hear from investigative journalists rather than preachy hypocrites. The experts in this film are not kooks like the jokers that spend their lives getting people to hate them so they can feel good about caged animals or dying trees.
This movie is about the veil between us and where our food comes from. That veil is heavily guarded by massive corporations and the American government. Surprise, surprise, Democrats and Republicans are guilty. The animals that suffer because of a few companies, and I mean a select group dominating everything, are only part of the story. People are hurt by this corrupt system as well. Read more »
Obama’s House Gives Censorship A Twirl
The White House got a kick in the pants this week from Constitution-wielding media networks. Fitting that at Halloween time our Executive branch would attempt one of the scariest violations of democratic rights I’ve seen in my lifetime. Obama’s had a problem with Fox News for some time now for what he feels is unfair treatment. By unfair, he means they report the news even if it’s critical of him. Love ’em or hate ‘em, if Fox News were making stuff up all the time, they wouldn’t be a part of the White House pool. 
The White House pool is a five network rotation of media outlets that share costs and responsibilities of covering White House happenings. Fox News has been a part of the pool since 1997. On Thursday, the White House tried to exclude Fox News from interviewing Obama’s pay czar Ken Feinberg. The decision to ban a major news network from the president’s administration is stunning, and I don’t mean stunning as in “look at Kate Beckinsale!” I’m talking stunning as in here’s a taser right to the gut of First Amendment rights.
Remember Thomas Jefferson’s take on the importance of the press? If you’ve never read this before, here you go.
“The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. But I should mean that every man should receive those papers and be capable of reading them.” — Thomas Jefferson to Edward Carrington, 1787.
Well, here comes the good part of this story. The other members of the D.C. press put aside partisan obsession and decided that Jefferson was right and Obama’s White House is wrong. ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN refused to interview Feinberg if Fox was to be ostracized. The White House caved. How cool is that? Read more »
America’s Political Disenchantment
You ever watch a movie or read something that came out years ago? Then you really want to talk about it but nobody knows what you’re talking about? That’s what blogs are for. So we can feel like people care what we’re saying.
I got a hold of a book from 1992 called Hail To The Candidate. I almost skipped the foreward. I’m g
lad I didn’t because those three short pages contain some of the best insight into our national thinking that I’ve ever read.
The author of this little piece that did a big number on me is Mr. Roger Kennedy who at the time served as Director of the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.
I’m going to get out of the way and reprint a few passages from these marvelous thoughts. Keep in mind he wrote this in 1992. His projections are saavy. Enjoy.
“There was a time when Americans enjoyed governing themselves. They didn’t complain about self-government. They celebrated politics, and themselves in it and because of it… Read more »
Read This If America Confuses You (Especially If You’re A Chunky Criminal Who Dislikes Government)
How’s your diet plan going? Imagine if the government were willing to pay you to get into better shape. Nancy Gibbs puts out some interesting ideas in a recent essay for Time magazine called “The Bribery Agenda.” 
Since Cash for Clunkers was so over the top popular with so many Americans willing to trade in cars (that still ran fine) for government funds, Gibbs contends that Washington D.C. may have just figured out how to get people motivated. Newsflash: give them free money.
Before I get to the part where I disagree with Ms. Gibbs, check out these gems she throws down in pointing to the ludicrous possibilities looming on the American horizon. With plans already in the works such as Dollars for Dishwashers and a law to reward people for voting, what else might the government think of? Consider a couple of her ideas.
- Cash for Chunkers: “We get to trade in that extra 20 pounds for a coupon good at the local farm stand.”
- Roads and bridges: “Why bother allocating $27 billion in stimulus money when we could pay people to reroute or, better yet, stay home?
- Criminals: “California plans on releasing at least 37,000 inmates to ease prison overcrowding and save $1 billion. It costs $27,000 a year to keep someone in jail. It would be much more efficient to pay thieves not to steal in the first place. [emphasis mine and WARNING: The rest of this article is super good. You may not be able to handle all the knowledge bombs, so watch your step.] Read more »
You May Never Work On Fridays Again
Here’s an interesting news item that may actually change your life. Last year Utah mandated that state employees would no longer work on Fridays. Instead, these workers would put in ten hours for four days. The Beehive State, also known as a Mormon wonderland, decided to restructure life in order to sa
ve money. Don’t look now, but the plan has been a revelation.
Lots of other cities in America and around the world have taken notice and are starting to ask questions. On top of that, the private sector is also starting to make the change. General Motors has already instituted the 4-10 plan at several factories. Could you handle a three day weekend every time? Your state or company may be making the change.
Time magazine’s Bryan Walsh breaks down this story in an article titled “Thank God It’s Thursday.” Walsh does a lot of writing about the environment and goes green more than Miss Piggy. The obvious benefits of this movement are lower energy costs and less traffic. After twelve months, employees have saved an estimated $6 million in gas. Most workers say the like the new schedule. Read more »
The Terminator’s Garage Sale
If you’re unfamiliar with how Arnold Schwarzenegger, A.K.A. The Terminator, became the Governator you have to go back to 2003. During that tumult
uous year in the state’s history, then Governor Gray Davis faced growing opposition in the early months of his second term. The voters decided they’d had enough of Davis. He was totally recalled and the star of Twins not named Danny DeVito mo
ved in.
Maybe Gray Davis should have had a garage sale. That’s one way the current administration is addressing the economic needs of The Golden State.
Lots of folks head to the attic or garage for stuff to sell when they need to scrape up some cash. Schwarzenegger decided to get behind the sale of loads of confiscated items collecting dust in a Sacramento warehouse. As the two day sale began yesterday, bargain-hunters snatched up watches, clothes, cars, collectibles, computers and more. Granted many of these items once belonged to criminals but on the flip side bad guys often have good taste.
Schwarzenegger is getting behind this sale in a way Gray Davis, or most governors, never could. “Ahnuld” even autographed 15 car visors and 4 patrol motorcycles to up the value at auction. The goal is ambitious. With hundreds of state-owned vehicles, thousands of furniture items, electronics, and more event planners hope to raise hundreds of thousands. Not bad pocket change for a little spring cleaning.
“Welcome to our garage sale,” the Kindergarten Cop told reporters as he stroked his pet ferret and denied suggestions that perhaps his headache was a tumor. Maybe for the next sale he can dress up as Conan the Barbarian and slash, slash, slash those prices! Read more »
Who’s More Interesting: Michael Vick or Ron Paul?
It’s been a long, hot summer but autumn is coming, the season of my blogging muse when students fill my hallways and debate is always around the next corner. Welcome back to the halls of EduClaytion.
Today’s debate had me pondering which newsworthy figure to chronicle, Michael Vick or Ron Paul. I’ve decided to go with both in a new segment we’ll call “Who’s More Interesting.” This semi-regular feature is sure to be a huge hit by which I mean probably not. Nevertheless, let’s check out what’s gotten these two fellows on the page.
MICHAEL VICK
The Michael Vick thing was so beat to death that most of us barely budged when news broke that the Philadelphia Eagles had signed the ex-con and current target of the most fake, self-righteous, overblown hatred in America. Yes, what the former Falcon’s quarterback did with dogs in an illegal gambling ring was despicable. Yes, he got in trouble and paid heavily including a long stint in jail. No, he is not to be executed anytime soon nor is he the anti-christ as far as I can tell. (Although don’t be surprised if the AC emerges from Philly. Or Baltimore.)
So what’s got Vick back in the news today? Something he had nothing to do with.
Apparently you can buy officially NFL licensed jerseys on the league’s website. These pooch shirts can be personalized with the name of a football star. You see where this is going right? So God forbid the NFL allow such a thing. Didn’t they get the memo that only murderers and drug dealers are supposed to get second chances with few or no questions asked? Michael Vick shouldn’t get a second chance, and his name certainly shouldn’t be on an animal jersey.
Hmm… Am I missing something?
First of all, if you oppose violence against dogs then why would you put a shirt on them? That’s the quickest way to get them jumped by canine thugs at the dog park. Secondly, are these same people condemning the other criminals of the NFL. Hey, Ray Lewis helped kill a human and I see people putting those jerseys on
their kids all the time. Where’s the outcry? Moving on.
I doubt Mike Vick has ever met Ron Paul, but if he did he would probably say that RP is one hip dude. Here’s a big Happy Birthday Ron Paul! The wonderful libertarian with no chance of ever winning the American presidency turns 74 today but doesn’t look a day over 71.
Paul is most often known as the most senior revolutionary in America or just as the guy that wasn’t allowed to debate the big party politicians. His rejection was mostly due to the fact that both parties are afraid of him on account of how he wants to strip all their illegitimately attained power. Heck, even Chuck Norris respects Ron Paul so what more can you say. Read more »
Congress Reaffirms Fake Hate Of Smoking
The Senate today sent a tobacco-hatin’ volley back to the House of Reps. Beware smokers, the government is about to light you up as the FDA takes more control of your lives. EduClaytion readers got a big whiff of this governmental stink bomb back in April in Smoke Em If You Got Em, one of the most read posts ever. 
The current version is new and improved by which I mean even worse. If the House drops its rubber stamp President Obama will sign on with glee. He must you see. The future of America’s children is at stake. I know because Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois told me. Durbin continues to help Illinois rise in the ranking of America’s stupidest states. Here’s what Dick had to say:
“This is a bill that will protect children and will protect America. Every day that we don’t act, 3,500 American kids — children — will light up for the first time. That is enough to fill 70 school buses.”
As I say, if you want to know what’s wrong with this legislation in the first place, just read the original article. I’ll even ignore the various problems with these stats about kids smoking and the hypocrisy of our leaders. Don’t get me started about how much Durbin and his pals want to “protect America.” Quite a bang up job they do passing dozens of laws to increase their power in the name of our good.
I’ve got a few ideas about who I’d like those busses to drive over but I better be careful before Congress passes another law to “protect me.”
Welcome To Here
In The Matrix, Morpheus tells Neo he can take the blue pill and go on believing whatever he wants to believe. Or he can take the red pill to stay in Wonderland and find out how deep the rabbit hole goes.
This is a red pill type site with a weekly column (and some extras in between) that provides information in an entertaining way. It’s about clear thinking and good writing. It’s about truth.
I’m a writer/speaker who teaches history and political science at a local college by day. Where is local, you say? Well, that would be Wonderland of course.
From pop culture to pop politics, this is my column.
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