Fire, Water and Government Know Nothing of Mercy

Ever notice how many amazingly delicious restaurants there are in NYC? Just me?

My (overly simplistic) theory is that rent is so high, coupled with the high cost of running a restaurant, that only the best, most visited restaurants can survive. That means only good things for the masses.

Lesson #46: you almost can't go wrong when it comes to restaurants in the city (the restaurant shown above is likely an exception). The people demand good food, and generally only visit places that have it. Be as adventurous as possible, and explore new neighborhoods on the premise of checking out the specialty cuisine in that 'hood.

It's simple economics, right? Delicious restaurants exist because people here want it, and are willing to pay. If a restaurant comes along that's sub-par, or has exorbitant prices they can't back up, then they'll likely go out of business.

Supply and demand is the simplest economic theory I can think of, and it's very loosely referenced above. Yet it's one our government has apparently stopped embracing this theory in some cases, as this article entails:

"The nation's chicken industry is having a difficult year. Chicken producers are struggling with higher costs of running their business at the same time that consumers are buying less meat.

This has created a glut of chicken products in the market.

Total chicken production in the first half of 2011 rose 4% compared to the same period a year ago, while demand for chicken has cooled, according to the National Chicken Council.

Consequently, retail prices for chicken product have dipped.

The Department of Agriculture, keenly aware of these issues, announced Monday that it will make a special purchase of up to $40 million of chicken products, which the government will then donate to federal food assistance programs such as soup kitchens and its national Feeding America programs."

This is beyond absurd. Essentially, we're giving handouts to factory farms because fewer people want to/can afford to eat their products?

If the chicken farmers were restaurant owners in this fine city, those fuckers would be out of business. Instead, we're the ones footing the bill, which, in a sickening twist, is fed back to the most vulnerable.

"A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage." - Herbert Hoover's 1928 presidential slogan. 

"Gross." - me, 2011, after reading that slogan.