Is the Department of Agriculture Putting Out False Data and Making Back Door Deals?

Having our government put out economic data helps us plan, helps us prevent future challenges, and make sense of the massive flows of our society and civilization. It is something that is a godsend to industry and citizens. However, if the data cannot be trusted, and if it is used by unscrupulous folks for market manipulation, politics, or taking advantage of the situation then all that economic data collected and disseminated turns out to be a net-negative. Okay so, let's talk.

As the Founder of a Think Tank, we follow all the data, very closely actually, in many industries and sub-sectors of our economy. I can remember sitting down with a lady from the Department of Agriculture in Washington DC not long ago, at a Starbucks in a California resort city and discussing unbalanced trade with China and some of the challenges we faced, specifically we discussed soybeans. In the end we didn't agree on much, and in her arrogance she said; "it's really complicated." I see, so the son of a farmer just couldn't understand is that it? Well, I understand more than she realizes and I just have little trust anymore in the Department of Agriculture these days.

There was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal not long ago titled; "Soybean Outlook Stifles Rally" by Andrew Johnson Jr. and Owen Fletcher published on March 10, 2012 that caught my eyes. The article spoke of a recent commodity stall in future, and the slowdowns expected in Brazil, Argentina, but it kept the US volume the same. Is this accurate? I wonder, and I've become very critical about the figures, forecasts, and economic data put out by our government as of late, much of it is clearly mathematically manipulated by adjusting basic assumptions and curiously adding and deleting various incoming data points in the metric.

Meanwhile, did you know that one of our biggest shipments of agricultural products to China is soybeans, having the prices stall out due to carefully constructed data might be good for keeping happiness with our China trading partners so they buy our other products such as Boeing jets, or allow GM to continue unabated from selling cars there, but if we are doing such things, I am concerned. Now that is not to say that China isn't constantly doing such things to us on the REE front, or with their own data, or in their markets, economic forecasts, banking strength, or trade figures, they are and we know it.

Still, playing with our numbers here and using those numbers in intensive negotiations with China on trade, doesn't just affect that game, it affects a whole bunch of people here, such as farmers, etc. Also, it causes unnecessary fluctuation and volatility in food commodity markets, which yes, can make those boys in Chicago wealthy beyond belief but if we are manipulating market data to win friends and influence people and using that less-than-ethical data to do our bidding, isn't that rigging markets. I thought we were beyond that.

Further, recall that the US Congress has recently passed a "no insider trading bill" and we need to stop these types of games all the way around. Being an election year and all that is at stake, I can understand the rational for market data manipulation and we all know it wouldn't be the first time, it's just that we need to be able to trust the government data whether it is jobs numbers, trade numbers, Federal Budgets, or CBO figures on let's say; a new health care insurance law for instance. The reality is we can no longer trust the data or information, so what does that say about trust in government?

You see, this isn't China, we should hold ourselves to a higher standard, we don't have to lower that standard to compete, we need to maintain trust in our markets. Apparently, the folks running things think they can continue to hijack the flows of our civilization and the drivers of our economy, namely; production, labor, and capital. What these folks don't get is no matter how smart they think they are, they'll never be able to come with the best answer no matter what lever they pull or game they play better than the free-market can do all by itself if we just leave it alone.

Lastly, the reason we need trust in our government is because there is a thing called social contract, and once there is no trust, we can't expect participation in a rigged game, or for citizens to do their part and agree to the rules, laws, and regulations set forth. These manipulations in data are setting a terrible precedent for America's future, and I'd like to hear some rational for it, something that addresses the foundational concerns I've stated here. What do you have to say for yourselves? I am not pleased, nor am I impressed by any of this.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Corporate Business Concepts. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/

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